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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26586247">Star Destroyers:United Kingdom</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/DepressedCarrot/pseuds/DepressedCarrot'>DepressedCarrot</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Star Destroyers [4]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Steven Universe (Cartoon)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Rock Band, Anxiety, Depression, Drug Use, Established Relationship, Explicit Language, F/F, F/M, Falling In Love, Long-Distance Relationship, Making Out, Musicians, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Punk, Recreational Drug Use, Road Trips, Rockstar AU, Sex, midwest emo</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-09-21</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-11-08</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 12:53:21</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Mature</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>15</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>135,906</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26586247</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/DepressedCarrot/pseuds/DepressedCarrot</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Star Destroyers are on the road again, but this time they're heading to the UK!</p><p>Steven Universe spends the trip playing shows and reliving his past. Connie, on the other hand, spends a lot of time debating her future. </p><p>With neither of them in the right headspace, it's certainly going to be a tour to remember...</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Connie Maheswaran &amp; Steven Universe, Connie Maheswaran/Steven Universe, Connverse</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Star Destroyers [4]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1933939</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>87</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>63</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Your Graduation</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Before reading I hope that you have read the original Star Destroyers else, well, you won't have any idea as to what is happening! (Lmao) </p><p>If you HAVE read Star Destroyers, I really recommend reading the two one-shots written by TranscedentalSpaceGem as they are canon and linked to the story! You can find them here: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26499754/chapters/64582438</p><p>If you've read Star Destroyers AND Star Destroyers:The Summer Ends THEN you are good to go! :^) I hope you enjoy!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>It had been nearly a year since Connie Maheswaran and her best friend, Max Kayori had embarked on an adventure of a lifetime. It was one that Connie hadn’t originally planned on turning out the way that it did, but there were no regrets on her part when it came to everything that had happened along the way. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Who would have thought that following a midwestern emo band across the country would have been such a life-changing experience? </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Max could have told you from the very beginning that was exactly what it would have been like, but even then, she couldn’t have quite predicted the events that had played out. From making friends with the band to Connie being in a committed relationship with the frontman. Everything that had happened to them made it seem as if it was all an elaborate plot to a movie. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Connie had spent the last year of college focusing on her studies the best she possibly could when she wasn’t being distracted by a certain boy from a certain emo band who liked to come over to see her in her dorm room every other weekend. It had gotten to a point he was coming over so often that Connie was reminded of his presence whenever she brushed her teeth, gently pushing the toothbrush aside that he had left there for when he stayed over. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Things hadn’t always been so black and white between the couple, the beginning of their relationship going from something that was mostly based around the pursuit of something new and different. Neither of them had ever been in a position where they had felt that way about another person before. It was all a new experience, but they both seemed to have welcomed it well after a couple of months of debate. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>It wasn’t so much a debate - the problems they had were mostly surrounding their anxiety and inability to want to open up to the other person as a way of noting their true feeling about one another. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Although everything seemed to have panned out for the best. Steven and Connie had nearly been in a relationship for a year and Connie was more than happy with what they shared. It wasn’t quite something that she would have assumed to have wanted to pursue until the end of college. Love was funny like that. It seemed to appear when you least expected it. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Connie was surprised that she had made it through her last year of college successfully without being persistently distracted by the one and only Steven Universe who seemed to have spent more time around her college campus than some of the students. He would often find himself being the musical accompaniment for Max and Connie’s studying in the kitchen that they shared as they studied. They were both more than happy to have him around, surprisingly, Max sometimes more so than Connie. Sometimes. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Is your gown itchy?” Max cocked an eyebrow with discomfort before scratching her arm underneath the gown. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No.” Connie responded quickly, shuffling up in the queue as they awaited their turn to be seated. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We don’t have to wear this for long - right?” Max bounced on her heels. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It won’t be that long.” Connie turned back with a smile, wanting nothing more than to assure Max. Connie knew that she was getting worked up from nothing but nerves. Connie had spent the whole morning with Max getting ready, witnessing her pacing up and down as she tried to get the panic-riddled day out of her mind. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Max continued to look around at the crowd of family and friends. Neither of them had seen their families since being dropped off in the morning, being ushered away to start the ceremony almost instantly. They hadn’t even had a chance to look for them since they had gotten there. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>What was once a field in the college had now been turned into a graduation ceremony. The weather was nice for it, being May. There were a lot of people there and unlike a music venue, Max felt somewhat suffocated by the idea of having to get up on a stage. It wasn’t quite the same if she couldn’t jump off into the crowd. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey, Connie…” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah?” Connie too was picking at the skin around her fingernails. An unmatched nervousness for what was about to happen. All of her hard work was about to be paid off at this moment. A moment that she had been looking forward to since she was younger.   </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“This is pretty scary, right?” Max snorted slightly, trying her hardest to hide her anxiety in her tone. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, a little bit.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“They’re probably going to pronounce my name wrong.” Max chuckled nervously. The past week had been pretty intense for them both, after living together for four years it was incredibly hard for them both to have gotten to a place mentally where they knew there was no way they would have been allowed back in the dorm room. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>They had both packed their stuff up together and unwillingly moved back home. It wasn’t what either of them had wanted, but it was something that they both had to do. Max had considered locking the door of the dorm room and hoping that nobody came to find them to kick them out. Max would have happily have stayed living inside of the room for the rest of her life. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Admittedly, they had been halfway through packing when they had started to reminisce on all of their times together throughout college. It wasn’t long until they were both sat in the corner of Max’s room crying to one another about the end of an era. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’ll be fine. We’re going to graduate!” Connie nudged Max as a way to get her smiling once again. Max chewed her bottom lip before attempting a slight smile. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Woo! Student debt.” Max let out a little cheer. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hm, don’t remind me.” Connie sighed, unable to even fathom the financial drain of having attended the college for the past four years. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>It wasn’t long before the graduates found their seats and awaited the ceremony. It was pretty much just how Connie had envisioned time and time again when it came to completing her studies. A dream that she had been thinking about since she was a little girl. Everything in her life was leading up to that moment. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>When they sat down Connie was immediately separated from Max under the curse of having different surnames. She knew that they would have been able to rave about graduation as soon as it was all over, but she didn’t like having to be split from her best friend during one of the most important moments of their life. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Of course, Max was called to the stage first and happily accepted her degree with a smile. Connie could tell that she was fighting through the nerves, but did perfectly as she grinned at the camera as they snapped a photograph. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>When the name ‘Connie Maheswaran’ was called, Connie was more than happy to have walked across the stage. It truly was everything that she had ever wanted. The past year had been the best year of her life and she was more than ready to have taken on life as a graduate. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Although she couldn’t see her, deep within the crowd Max was getting shushed by the person next to her as she went to clap for her best friend. Somewhere else in the crowd her parents sat with proud smiles on their faces. Connie couldn’t wait to see them. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>As much as Connie had been looking forward to the ceremony, she hated to admit how boring it was. Name after name people were called to the stage to receive their degree. It wasn’t long before clapping became a repetitive chore. If she had gotten that restless sat there for what felt like hours she couldn’t have quite imagined how Max felt. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Despite the ceremony feeling as if it had lasted a lifetime, they were eventually allowed to leave the seated area and find their family and friends. Connie had a quick look around for Max, but it was incredibly hard to spot someone when everyone was wearing the same thing. She eventually gave up and went to find out where her parents had gotten to. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>It didn’t take her long to find her parents stood smiling with open arms. It wasn’t very often she felt their compassionate touch and yet at that moment, her mother welcomed a hug. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Connie, we’re so proud of you.” Priyanka Maheswaran held tightly onto her daughter as they smiled. Although she had never quite had the greatest relationship with her parents, it was in that moment she realised that all her academic achievements had been worth it. Even if it was just to seek their approval. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Thanks, Mom!” Connie wanted to cry into her mother’s chest. Just to hear the words was worth the countless hours she had stayed up past her bedtime debating on her usage of different coloured highlights worth it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“My little girl is all grown up!” Doug was on the verge of tears himself as Connie went to hug him too. Although her parents had always been incredibly smothering, it was nice to have heard from them in a way that wasn’t patronising. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Connie closed her eyes as she smiled, continuing to hug her father with the inability to want to let go. It was nice to have been caught up in the moment. She had been between packing up her dorm room and living back home with her parents for a while now. It was nice to have been back home. At least whilst she was still happy in the company of her parents. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Connie removed herself from her father, allowing him to hold onto her shoulders and smile at her with his usual sweet beam. Admittedly, she had always been somewhat more attached to her father. Her mother’s parental technique of being emotionally vacant wasn’t always one she favoured. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>It had been hard. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Connie’s focus was suddenly diverted to just behind her dad’s shoulder, looking over with slight confusion in her expression. A man was standing opposite, staring back at her with a slight smile as he awkwardly tried to look away. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He was stood in black trousers and scruffy red Vans. An unmatched contrast. He was wearing a white shirt that had been neatly tucked into his trousers and a pink tie that complimented the rest of his outfit. His black hair was in its usual fluffy positioning on the top of his head and it seemed as if he had attempted to make an effort when it came to shaving. Connie had never seen the man in an outfit quite like it, completely surprised to have seen him there before her. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Steven?” Connie gasped as she gently pushed past her dad. She ran straight towards him before throwing her arms out wide and allowing him to hold her tightly. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Connie’s parents spun on their heels, a little bit concerned as to how their daughter had so suddenly run off like that for what seemed to have been with rude reasoning. They exchanged glances as Steven chuckled into the crook of her neck, so pleased to have found her in the crowd. Connie held him close, a part of her was ready to kiss him before realising where they were and who she was with. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>It hadn’t been that long since she had last seen Steven, he had helped her and Max move some things around their dorm the previous weekend. Admittedly, he had done a lot of the heavy lifting to somewhat show off his strength of handling equipment his whole life. They were both incredibly grateful for the help. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Congratulations, Connie! I saw you on the stage shaking that man’s hand. It’s super cool you have that piece of paper now!” Steven laughed with the widest grin, incredibly happy to have been there as he slowly detached himself from the hug. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I still can’t believe you came all this way for my graduation! I thought you were preparing with the ba-” Connie stopped mid-sentence, realising that her parents were standing right behind her. Her same parents that had no idea that in two weeks she was flying to England to embark on a UK tour with her boyfriend's midwest emo band, Star Destroyers. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>As far as they were aware, she was going on a fun historical European adventure with her best friend and studious roommate of four years, Maxine J Kayori. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Except, Connie had agreed that she would tell her parents about their relationship. Everything after college wouldn't have worked without letting them know. Steven wanted to continue to push on the matter, he had been hidden away for nearly a whole year. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh yeah, I have been - all week! We’ve got the new album down-” Steven began to talk with excitement in his tone. The band had been practising playing the new album that they had created at the beginning of the year live. They were pretty much used to it by now and were very excited to have been able to play their new songs live in the UK. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Who’s this?” Connie’s mother tried her very hardest not to turn her nose up at the man who had just been touching her daughter. If they knew the true intimacy that the two of them had experienced with one another they certainly wouldn’t have been happy. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Steven and Connie both looked at one another for a moment. Steven had caught onto the fact that the people in front of him were Connie’s parents. She certainly got a lot of her visual attributes from them both. Steven coughed slightly as he straightened his tie. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>This was the moment. The moment where Steven was finally introduced to the Maheswaran's as Connie's boyfriend. He corrected his posture and stood up straight, he was going to try and be better than all of the pre-approved suitors that she had been set up with in the past. This was-</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, this is Steven. He’s studying </span>
  <em>
    <span>musical history</span>
  </em>
  <span>, I met him on the history tour last year.” Connie smiled sweetly, unfortunately incredibly used to lying through her teeth to her parents. Steven had happily sat through complaint after complaint of her parents. He liked it when she ranted about things. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Connie choked on her words. As much as she wanted to tell her parents about Steven, she suddenly thought otherwise. She couldn't tell them about Steven! Not now! </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hello, Mr and...Dr Maheswaran.” Steven’s voice cracked as he spoke, nodding slightly as he continued to push the tie downwards to make sure it was in position. It was the first time he had met Connie's parents, all of his fears flooding back to him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s nice to meet you, Steven. Musical history, huh? How’s your classical knowledge?” Doug asked as he too subconsciously straightened his tie. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, the classics? Well, if we’re talking about the old school hardcore punk scene from the mid to late nineties that merged itself into the midwestern emo sub-genre - I’ve got you covered. Huge influences for me are bands like </span>
  <em>
    <span>The Get Up Kids, Rites of Spring, Sunny Day Real Estate </span>
  </em>
  <span>and just about anything that Mike Kinsella plays in.” Steven chuckled as he counted his favourite bands on his fingers. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Connie’s parents stared in confusion at the man as Connie let out a slightly embarrassed whine followed by a nervous laugh. This was one of the many reasons why she didn't want them to know he existed. As far as they were concerned, Steven was just one of Connie's bizarre friends. Wasn't that okay for now?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Steven appreciates all genres. Don’t get him started on musical theories though!” Connie continued to chuckle as she stood next to him and tapped him gently on his shoulder with her palm. Steven grinned happily, thinking there was no way that he couldn’t have been winning them over with his musical knowledge. Sure, Connie had lied about him going to college, but he didn't need college to know about music. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Music theories? Oh, like the one about Paul McCartney dying and being replaced by a doppelganger?” Steven cocked an eyebrow at Connie before happily smiling at her parents. He must have blown them away with that knowledge.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Priyanka and Doug’s expression dropped at the comments, somewhat confused by the man that Connie seemed to have spent some time with in the past. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Uh…” Doug raised a finger in confusion. If Priyanka wasn’t standing right beside him he probably would have questioned more on the Paul McCartney theory. At least she couldn’t stop him Boogling it later. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Mom, Dad, I’m going to go and find Max now. I’ll see you both later for the meal. Don’t have too much fun without me. Come on, Steven - you should probably help me find Max.” Connie gritted her teeth together, wanting nothing more than to escape from the awkward situation that she had been put in. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Connie didn’t even give her parents the chance to reply before she had practically pushed Steven away from the scenario. She hoped that nobody at her college or even her parents were able to recognise the son of the late pop singer, Rose Quartz. Luckily, it was pretty </span>
  <em>
    <span>unlikely</span>
  </em>
  <span>, at least she had hoped it would have been. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>In what was nearly a year of being in a relationship with the musician they had managed to be interrupted on dates quite frequently by people who knew who he was. Connie hadn’t realised quite how often he got bothered, although it was mostly around venues with people who knew him as a musician. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I didn’t think you owned a tie.” Connie questioned as she practically pushed him along on his heels to make sure that they were far enough from her parents to no longer be bothered by them. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, I didn’t until about three hours ago. I brought this outfit on the way here. TubeTube has really good tutorials on tying ties.” Steven adjusted the tie once more, unable to stop touching it as he walked alongside Connie. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He was sure he had pulled it too tight. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, it looks nice.” Connie complimented. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You look nice too...in your...sheet...thing? Dress?” Steven squinted slightly at the outfit. It was just the same as everyone was wearing, but somehow, she managed to look so much better than them all. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“My gown?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Uh...yes.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Thanks."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Connie smiled at his awkwardness. It was nice to know that he was at least trying to make somewhat of an effort when it came to understanding educational norms. It wasn’t as if he had ever been to or was planning to attend school. Connie was his only link to the experience and from the number of times that Connie had been stressed out by what she was studying about, it didn’t quite seem worth it to him. Connie was more than invested in it and that was all that mattered. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I wanted to look smart. I thought you were going to tell your parents about us..." Steven spoke in a somewhat deflated tone, he didn't want to dampen the mood - but he was also after answers. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I've still got two weeks to tell them. I just really don't think today is the day. I'm sorry." Connie sighed as she held onto her own arm, she felt terrible about not being able to tell them about Steven. She had managed to hide him from them for so long it had just become natural to do so. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>It wouldn't have been so easy to hide their relationship once she moved back to Beach City. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"It's...okay." Steven half-smiled. It wasn't okay, but he was going to let it slide just as he had done plenty of times in the past. It wasn't worth getting upset about, especially not on her graduation day. It was a day of celebration. He took a deep breath and bottled up his feelings. Today wasn't about him - it was about Connie. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Connie was sure that she had spotted Max. Her family dynamic was large enough to have been spotted from a mile away, not only that - but her family consisted of her and an abundance of brothers. Connie knew the family a little too well, they had always been inviting Connie over for dinner or trying to get her to stay whenever they had a spare weekend. If Max was going to visit her family, Connie was almost always involved in some way. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>It felt nice to have been a part of a large loving family for once. It was always hard for her to invite Max back to Beach City, knowing just how depressingly quiet it would have been in her household. The only thing to be heard as they ate dinner would have been the clock ticking in the kitchen. At least in Max’s house, they were allowed the television on as they ate. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Max had grown up as the only female in her household. Max’s father had been a single parent for most of Max’s life, but that had never stopped him from wanting the best for his kids - mostly torturing them with dad jokes. Admittedly, Connie had some competition when it came to gaining Max’s rank of a best friend as her dad would have always come out on top. No matter what. Her three older brothers were both the traditional amount of supportive and annoying all in one. Her eldest brother, Carter, was nearing the age of thirty and seemed to have gotten his life together rather quickly with a wife and kids. Max had been an aunt for as long as she could remember. Ryan was twenty-six and had always been the quieter of the bunch, Max didn’t like to pick favourites - but it was Ryan. Her youngest brother was Dylan, a twenty-four-year-old who was still convinced that streaming video games on the internet was a viable career path without a following. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Then, there was Max. The youngest of the Kayori family. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Steven! Connie!” Max shouted with a huge grin, despite them not being far away enough to justify the level of volume. Steven practically gasped when he saw her, Connie sometimes questioning whose boyfriend he truly was. The friendship that Max and Steven had developed was just as sickeningly sweet as the romance that he had developed with Connie. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Max! Happy graduation!” Steven reached out and shook her hand, followed by a fist bump, followed by a hi-five, followed by a fist bump on the opposite hand, followed by another high-five, followed by-</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Connie sighed heavily as she watched the not-so-secret handshake that she had witnessed far too many times. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Thanks, bro.” Max winked with yet another fist bump. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No problem for my bro, bro.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s cool, bro.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sweet, bro. Totally sick, bro.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Can you two just be quiet for a moment?” Connie breathed heavily as she gave a stern expression to both Steven and Max and placed her hands together. She needed some kind of clarity over the situation. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Quiet? You two never give me that luxury! Ayeeeee.” Max popped some finger guns over at Steven with a wide smile. She was internally screaming. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ayeeeeeee.” Steven gave her finger guns and a wink in return. Steven didn’t quite register what the joke was regarding until it was too late. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Steven!” Connie scowled, noticing his participation in the embarrassing joke about their sex life. Of course, Max had unfortunately been subjected to a lot of...background noise throughout the past year. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh right. Whoops.” Steven grinned awkwardly as he once again placed his hands on his tie and attempted to fix it. He hadn’t quite expected to have completely walked into the joke, hoping that Connie wasn’t mad at him for feeding Max’s crude humour. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Look who it is! It’s </span>
  <em>
    <span>Max and Cheese</span>
  </em>
  <span>!” A tall skinny man with a small afro that was shaved at the sides jumped behind Max and put her in a chokehold. Max elbowed his stomach with intent as he flinched backwards, far too used to his little sister attempting to get him. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hi Ryan...” Connie sighed with a smile as she folded over her arms and watched as Max attempted to pull some kind of wrestling move on her brother. It was unsuccessful. Connie had known the Kayori family for as long as she had known Max and it seemed as if not a single day went by where there wasn’t a single uninteresting thing going on in their household. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The Kayori brothers had taken to calling Connie, Cheese, since the moment that they met her. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Max and Cheese</span>
  </em>
  <span> were too good of a nickname combination for any of them to have let go. Connie knew exactly where she got her poor nick-naming skills from. Her brothers just never stopped calling Max anything and everything, just as Max frequently did to Connie. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Can’t believe you nerds graduated.” Ryan scoffed, still acting the same as he did when he was a teenager. The only thing that changed was his ability to grow slightly more facial hair, although even then that had taken years to come through. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“At least we went to college.” Max countered, stepping playfully onto her brother’s shoe causing him to yelp. You wouldn’t have believed that either of them was in their early twenties when it came to their sibling rivalry. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Fuck you, </span>
  <em>
    <span>Gluteus Maximus</span>
  </em>
  <span>!” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ryan! I shouldn’t have to tell you to leave your sister alone - you’re far too old for that. Besides, it’s Maxxie’s special day today. That means can it!” A man with a somewhat bellowing voice stepped over and placed his hand on top of Max’s cap, wanting nothing more than to scruff the top of her hair. She stuck her tongue out at her brother like a child as he pouted and shook his head at the gesture. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Connie didn’t think she had ever met a man who looked so terrifying yet had such a lovable personality. Max’s dad was one of the nicest people that Connie had ever met, there hadn’t ever been a single time where she didn’t feel welcomed by him. She somewhat wished her parents were that welcoming and yet she didn’t think it would have been possible. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Max’s dad had a lot of patience, patience that came overtime from raising three boys and one very energetic girl. Connie wasn’t quite sure how he had done it - but he had. She would have been lying if she had said she wasn’t impressed. Especially knowing how chaotic each of them was. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, Connie, congratulations! All of that hard work has finally paid off. I can’t wait to have a catch up with your parents later - I’ve heard this hotel we’re in does unlimited free breadsticks. How great is that?” Max’s dad, or better known to the working world as Richard Kayori threw his arms around Connie and gave her a tight hug. Connie welcomed the comfort, seeing as Richard had hugged her more in four years than she believed her parents had in her lifetime. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Thank you so much, Richard.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And who is this handsome young man with the wonky tie?” Richard stood back and got a good look at Steven who had now become incredibly self-conscious about his formal wear. Why couldn’t he get it right? </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s Steven Universe, Dad!” Max pointed out. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“The infamous Steven Universe. I’ve heard a lot about you, mostly good things. Can I just-” Before Steven could even hesitate, Richard was inside of his personal space tugging on the tie. Steven furrowed his eyebrows at the man who was insistent on adjusting his tie, but carefully watched to see how he did it. He was a lot faster than the TubeTube tutorial. “Thanks. Anyway, will you be joining us for dinner?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Steven looked up at the tall man with the strapping figure, Max’s dad truly was terrifying. They would have been even more terrified if they knew he was a skilled professional boxer in his heyday. Even if Steven didn’t want his tie redone he knew he didn’t exactly have a choice. Although, he happily accepted the help. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No?” Steven wasn’t quite sure what to say, he hadn’t been invited to dinner.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Connie, your boyfriend isn’t coming to dinner? Why didn’t your parents give me his name?” Richard turned to cock an eyebrow at Connie, continuing to tie the tie without looking. Steven looked down in awe, hoping to one day harness such a skill. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Uh…” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Dad, it’s cool. Their relationship is on the DL. Connie can’t exactly invite him.” Max explained as she watched the awkwardness in Steven’s expression as her dad finished tying the knot. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Perfect, looking like a real champ now.” Richard winked as he pulled down Steven’s collar and made sure everything was as neat as possible. Steven looked down in puzzlement, completely perplexed as to how the man had gotten the tie so perfect. He figured that was just a skill that came with life and people who had real jobs. “Nonsense about not being able to invite him though - he can always pull up a chair! If we can’t order food then there’s always breadsticks.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Connie exchanged glances with Steven. It wasn’t as if she didn’t want Steven at the dinner party, she very much did - but it wasn’t as if she had ever told her parents about him. She had still managed to keep the secret as to what she did across the states the previous year away from them. Connie felt a lot of guilt regarding her parents and Steven. She wanted to tell them, she did, but she couldn’t have helped think that by doing so she would somehow drive Steven away. Steven understood her reasoning and had learnt to accept he was a secret for a reason. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Thank you.” Steven smiled, happily touching the end of the tie. It finally looked just like the pictures online. He could have been a businessman, or a banker, or maybe even a lawyer. Ties were pretty fancy. He hoped that Connie liked his tie.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What about Carter and Dylan?” Max questioned, interested to know where her other brothers had gotten to. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Carter has to sort out the kids and Dylan...I have no idea. That man is a mystery.” Ryan scratched the back of his head. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay, so celebratory drinking and eating are to begin in a few hours back at the hotel. You kids can go and do whatever it is that you guys do. It might only be three in the afternoon, but knock yourself out with some shots - you deserve it. Just...be awake by the time we have dinner.” Richard tapped both Connie and Max’s shoulders followed by a loud chuckle as he spoke, encouraging them to go out and have fun. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Alrighty, Dad!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And Maxxie?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I love you!” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Max glanced over towards Steven and Connie who gave her a smile at her dad's comments. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Dad! I’m twenty-two years old and should be completely embarrassed by this situation as we stand before my two great friends, Steven and Connie. However, nothing is embarrassing about loving your father.” Max placed her hands on her hips and spoke in a firm tone. She opened up one of her eyes before looking over at her dad. “So with that, I shall say, I love you too!” Max opened her arms and gave her father another loving hug. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Aw, well, alright - you guys have fun! The meal is at five. Hope to see you there, Steven!” Richard waved as Max released her grip and waved back before sticking her middle finger up at her brother. Ryan responded quickly with the same finger as his father slapped him over the back of the head playfully. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Richard was convinced he had four teenagers - not four adult children.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>As much as Max would have loved to have gone to a local bar and knocked back a few drinks, she was more than willing to have done whatever Connie wanted to do. Connie would have much preferred to have sat around for a few hours to avoid the crowds of people around them. The bars would have been packed with people and that certainly wasn’t something she was going to have subjected herself to if she could help it. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So, now we’re graduates what do we do?” Max placed her hands on her hips once more and looked over at Connie and Steven awaiting some kind of plan. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Wait around until five?” Steven attempted not to touch the tie anymore, placing his hands in his pockets.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Look for jobs and lead a soulless existence?” Connie sighed with half a smile. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hm, neither of you said anything remotely fun. Whack. There are loads of parties with miniature food and fancy clips for your napkins. Should we at least </span>
  <em>
    <span>try</span>
  </em>
  <span> to have some fun?” Max suggested, wanting nothing more than for them to have a good time. It was going to have been hard when there wasn’t that much for them to do that didn’t include getting drunk or being surrounded by an abundance of people. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sure. Why not?” Connie smirked, taking Max’s suggestion. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Connie resisted the urge to hold onto Steven’s hand, as much as she wanted to it was plausible that her parents were still lurking around campus. Probably not, but it made her nervous to think about. They could have crept up on her at any minute and not only would that have ruined their relationship, but it most certainly would have caused the UK trip to fall through. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The three of them had decided on hanging out together by walking around campus and showing Steven all of the things that they had been doing over the past four years. Neither of them was quite ready to leave. There were so many memories that both their dorm room and the surrounding campus held. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>This was where Max and Connie had become </span>
  <em>
    <span>Max and Connie</span>
  </em>
  <span>. It was hard to think of a life where they weren’t surrounded by campus grounds. Connie wasn’t quite sure she was ready to live a life where she didn’t wake up in the morning to Max sitting in the kitchen pouring over four times the recommended portion size of cereal into a bowl. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>For graduation, Connie’s parents and Max’s dad had decided to book their families into the same hotel. The Maheswaran’s were usually pretty organised, whereas Max’s dad could usually be a little more laid back when it came to schedules. Max had a pretty large family and accommodating to that had been difficult. In the end, they had managed to book a large table in the hotel that they were staying in, the rest of the area completely booked up for graduation night. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Steven hopped into the back of Max’s car as they travelled over to the hotel that they were staying in for the night. It was a lot easier than their families travelling back the same day as graduation. That and it was a treat! It wasn’t every day that someone got to graduate. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Steven was gracefully shoved to wait with Max’s family as Max and Connie went upstairs in the hotel to escape from the gowns that they had been cursed with. They wanted to make sure that they had dressed up enough to be presentable in the evening, it seemed as if everyone else had made an effort to dress smartly - even Steven. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>It was a nice night to have worn nice clothing and it wasn’t very often that either of them managed to dress up. There was never really an excuse to do so. Max didn’t particularly enjoy dressing up - unless it meant that she got to wear a suit or button-up shirt and suspenders. In this case, she could most definitely wear one - so she did just that. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Connie put a lot of effort into getting ready, replacing her glasses with contacts, doing her hair in a way that allowed it to flow past her shoulders, she wore just the right amount of makeup as to enhance her beauty - not that she needed it. She wore a beautiful strapless teal coloured dress that stopped at the chest and hugged her figure nicely before stopping just above the knee. It was respectable, but also incredibly sexy. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>They had gotten ready in Max’s room and Max insisted that they take a bunch of photos together before they went downstairs for dinner. They both looked fantastic, from Connie’s beautiful dress to Max’s smart white shirt and black trousers. Unlike Steven, she had skipped out on the tie. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We look so hot.” Max snorted as she held onto her suspenders. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I mean...a bit - yeah.” Connie felt somewhat shy about her outfit as she scratched the back of her neck. She hadn’t dressed up in an incredibly long time and was a little nervous about showing off her outfit to a group of people. Max seemed to like how she looked, but then again - Max would have agreed with most things. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Don’t be so down on yourself - you’re hot! Look in the mirror and say it!” Max insisted as she grabbed Connie by the arms and placed her in front of the mirror that ran the length of the wardrobe inside of the hotel room. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s stupid.” Connie groaned. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“N-no it’s not! Y’know that whole bullshit about positive thinking attracting positive things? It’s true! It works! You need to look in that mirror and tell that incredibly smoking hot piece of stuff that she’s sexy and proud.” Max pushed Connie closer to the mirror as she poked her finger on the glass. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“‘I’m sexy and I’m proud?’ Max, come on. That’s so stupid.” Connie couldn’t help herself but snort with laughter. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Are you making fun of my morning routine?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, I-”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m sexy and I’m proud!” Max pushed her finger harder against the glass, keeping her arm around Connie as she spoke. Connie continued to laugh as Max tried her hardest to keep a straight face. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I can’t-” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Say it!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m sexy and I’m proud.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“There you go, hot stuff. Chilli Con Connie. You look amazing - don’t ever forget it.” Max winked as she pulled Connie in for half a hug. Connie smiled up in the mirror - Max was right. She did look good. She was proud. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I wish I could pull off that as well as you. I love it so much!” Connie laughed as she stood beside Max, in awe of her best friend’s style. Max always had such a great sense of fashion. She always looked cool. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh you could totally rock this, don’t give me any of that crap!” Max snorted, incredibly supportive of her friend as per usual. She hated it when Connie didn’t have the confidence that she deserved. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Not as well as you!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, ConCon - you’re going to make me blush. Steven better watch out for me - </span>
  <em>
    <span>roar</span>
  </em>
  <span>.” Max jokingly flirted as Connie pushed her off with a chuckle. The two best friends hadn’t been closer and couldn’t help but feel sad whenever they thought about packing up the dorm room they once shared.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It certainly would have been weird not to have lived with Max. She wasn’t quite sure what her plan was once she got back to Beach City. She would have to figure things out for herself after the tour. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Steven sat awkwardly with the Kayori family and what seemed to have been the Maheswarans on the opposite side of the table. Carter Kayori, his wife and his kids all sat at the end of the table, Dylan had decided to show up but kept his head buried in his phone, Ryan sat between his father and Steven. Steven had taken on the role of Ryan’s friend as to not raise any suspicion when it came to Connie’s parents. They had started talking for a while, getting to know one another. Ryan was a lot more reserved than Max, but still emitted the same chaotic energy. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Steven didn’t mind waiting around with the family, anxiously making eye contact with the Maheswarans enough for it to have become a little awkward. He wanted to do everything he possibly could to have made a good impression on them. Although, it was kind of hard when they were still calling Connie every other week with potential suitors that they had lined up for her. The kind of guys with business degrees - not a shitty emo band. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Max and Connie walked into the room and found the table in the corner of the room, everyone already participating in some kind of conversation. Connie came and sat beside her parents, but before she could even reach her chair Steven had removed himself from the conversation at the dinner table. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He looked over towards Connie and blinked rapidly at the sight. His jaw unhinged at her beauty. Everything from her fitted dress to her hair that had been tied up at the back to show her full face, she was even wearing contact lenses. He practically ogled at how gorgeous she was, unable to stop staring at her. Steven had never seen her dress up like that before. He had never even seen the teal dress before - she was stunning. She was his girlfriend. Steven was so lucky. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s the graduates! Congratulations to you both!” Richard stood up and clapped loudly, indicating for everyone to do the same thing, overly enthusiastic for the cause. He was just incredibly proud of his daughter. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Everyone clapped, Steven, lifting his hands and clapping slowly as he continued to stare at Connie as if she was the only person in the room. He couldn’t take his eyes off her. She was smiling up at Richard as he congratulated them, turning and laughing with Max at their celebration. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It was Steven, wasn’t it?” Doug suddenly spoke across the table as everyone’s clapping came to a halt. Steven was stuck in his trance, continuing to stare at Connie as he thought about how much he loved her. She was so wonderful. His mind was a million miles away.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh Steven, man.” Ryan noticed Doug’s not-so-pleased looking expression as he nudged Steven. Connie’s eyes widened at the situation, not realising what kind of looks that the boy had been giving her across the table. It certainly seemed to have been looks that her father disapproved of. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Huh. Yeah?” Steven turned towards Ryan, curious to know why he had been knocked out of his trance. He watched as Ryan nodded towards Doug. Steven looked across the table beside Connie where Doug was sitting. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It was Steven, wasn’t it?” Doug repeated, not enjoying having to say the words a second time to the boy. Connie’s heart dropped, this time hearing what was being said. She shook her head ever so slightly at Steven - he needed to back off. Her father was a big softie, but when it came to his daughter he would have been relentless.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh...yes...I am Steven.” Steven pointed to his chest before awkwardly chewing on the inside of his mouth. Connie would have said she had gotten used to Steven’s awkward unaware nature after nearly a year of being together, but it was still just as frustrating as it was when they had first met. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hm. It’s nice to meet you, Steven. I’m Doug and this is my wife, Priyanka.” Doug introduced them both formally as if he didn’t already know who they were. They hadn't gotten the chance to exchange pleasantries beforehand. Doug reached across the table and offered out his hand as a greeting. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Steven quickly looked over to Connie who nodded anxiously, hoping that her dad didn’t see her out the corner of his eye. Max watched the exchange, interested to know if there would have been any family drama. Doug was just looking for anything to distract Steven from his daughter - he certainly wasn’t a fan of the way in which the man was staring at her. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Steven reached out and gave Doug’s hand a firm hand in return, feeling somewhat irked as Doug squeezed a little tighter than a usual handshake. Was this her father’s way of showing his protection over his daughter? Steven wasn’t quite sure, he had never had to deal with parents when it came to anyone he had been with in the past. Except, he had never been with anyone like he had been with Connie.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s nice to meet you.” Steven smiled awkwardly as he let go of Doug’s hand and retracted himself from any further conversation. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>How was he supposed to concentrate on a celebratory dinner party when he had the most beautiful woman in all of existence sat opposite him? He couldn’t...not look at her. He wanted to tell her how pretty she was and then kiss her exposed neck just as he had done time and time before. He wanted to tell her how much he loved her. All of which were things that were not appropriate for the dinner party. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Max got stuck straight in when it came to the breadsticks. They were free - so why not? They had even managed to order something for Steven and he was more than grateful to take the offer. Richard claimed that nobody went hungry at a Kayori family dinner and if he was at home cooking it himself then he would feed them enough that they wouldn’t have to eat for a week. Connie could contest to the fact that Mr.Kayori did in fact enjoy cooking for what seemed like an army whenever she stayed over at Max’s. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>There was a lot of casual conversation that spread around the table. Everything from talking about stories from college all the way to listening to Max’s niece recite the alphabet at the end of the table. Everyone found it adorable. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Steven spent a lot of the evening glancing over at Connie and giving her small smiles, enough to be polite and not raise suspicion. He had even taken to trying his hardest to reach his foot across the table so he could gently nudge her shins, but that didn’t quite work without him slumping down in his seat. Anything he could have done to be closer to her he was willing to do. It had been weeks since they had really spent time together alone and he was beginning to crave not only her touch but her love. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Steven DeMayo didn’t like to admit that he was needy when it came to his first relationship, but he certainly wanted to squeeze everything he possibly could out of their time together. They constantly showered one another with love and affection, which unfortunately for Max meant a lot of nights on the weekend with her headphones in. She wasn’t quite sure what was worse - the fucking or the ‘I love yous’. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Connie took in the moment around her. It was a great night to have been surrounded by family and friends at the dinner table. Even her mother and father had happily been participating in a conversation with the Kayori family which had made her incredibly happy. They had met a few times in the past, but nothing could bring two families together like graduation. Or at least that’s how it seemed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So, you’re both going to the UK in a couple of weeks - are you excited?” Richard questioned as he finished off a free breadstick. He really wasn't quite sure how many he had consumed. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh yeah, we’re both incredibly excited for our </span>
  <em>
    <span>historical landmark tour</span>
  </em>
  <span> of the United Kingdom. It’s going to be so much fun!” Max grinned before violently winking at her father to make sure he understood that Connie’s parents weren’t aware of the reality of the situation. They didn’t need to know they would have been spending their time in mosh pits or cramped in a tour van with an emo band. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I can’t wait to see London!” Connie grinned. It was true, she had always wanted to go to London. There was so much that she wanted to visit that she was going to have to suggest that they went there multiple times. The trip would allow for it and there was so much there for them to explore! It would never have gotten boring. England’s capital had something for everyone. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Steven sat in silence, seeing them through their lies. It was strange for him to listen when it knew the truth. It felt as if Connie’s parents didn’t know anything about her at all and that included them knowing about him. Connie had her reasons, but that didn’t mean he didn’t think about it frequently. She had assured him plenty of times that he was good enough, despite him not feeling that way. She had even gotten to the point of confessing her love for him the first time after a conversation about the guys she had been forced to date in the past. It wasn’t Steven’s fault, it was her parents and their reaction to something that went against everything they believed in. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Steven certainly wasn’t an ideal suitor for their daughter. Except he felt as if the longer that she continued to lie to her parents the worse it would have gotten. Connie had been lying to them her entire life, lying to them about Steven was another thing to add to the list. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Richard raised a toast to the two graduates, once again expressing his pride for his daughter and her best friend. Even Priyanka and Doug had said some touching words about Connie, enough to make her eyes water ever so slightly. It was strange to hear such supportive things from her parents. She only guessed this was the day that they had built her up to since the moment she stepped into the education system. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So, Connie - what are you doing now that you’ve graduated? We all know Max is going to law school.” Richard questioned.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Man, I can’t believe you’re </span>
  <em>
    <span>choosing </span>
  </em>
  <span>to study for three more years. Why would anyone do that?” Dylan inputted his opinion for the first time in the evening, confused as to why his little sister would choose that path in her life. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So in three years time, I will be the lawyer who legally detaches you from our family.” Max snorted, kicking her brother underneath the table. Dylan scowled as the conversation went back to Connie. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Connie didn’t quite know how to respond. It was hard having gone through college thinking that she knew what she was doing with her life when the reality was she had no idea. Now was really the time that she had to decide what she wanted to do for the rest of her life with what she had spent the past four years learning about. It was hard to get a grasp of the real world when all she really knew was education. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Max seemed to have it all figured out and Connie was happy for her - but that didn’t mean that she wasn’t upset about the contrast in her situation. She could already imagine her parents with their internal monologue cursing her for not inputting herself through another three years of school so she could come out with a degree in law. That was what the smart kids did. That was what Max could do. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’ve already started to polish my resume, I’ll be filling out applications starting from tomorrow!” Connie grinned politely, casually lying through her teeth for what felt like the millionth time that day. Where was she supposed to apply for jobs - Beach City? She wasn’t even sure what she wanted to do in life, let alone what kind of job she wanted and where she wanted it to have been. There were all kinds of implications that came with her moving back to Beach City and getting a job there permanently - most of which involved not being close to Steven. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s always good to get ahead.” Priyanka commented, making sure that her voice was heard within the conversation. Her mother always had something to say - especially when it came down to what she wanted to do within her life. She had never felt as if there was anything that she had done in her life that was her own choice - apart from her relationship with Steven. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, you’re always welcome to come and visit us up in Michigan throughout the summer and beyond. Our doors are always open.” Richard made sure to give Connie an open invite. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Don’t tell everyone our doors are open, Dad! That’s how the robbers get in.” Max winked as she nudged Connie beside her. Her dad laughed as he shook his head. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Thank you very much, Mr. Kayori.” Connie nodded back in response, knowing that if she were to have addressed Max’s dad by his first name her parents would have considered it rude. Despite being told plenty of times that ‘Richard’ was just fine. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The party had been going on for quite a while before everyone decided to have called it a night. Connie was incredibly tired from the day that she had. Graduating was tiring - let alone all of the work she had to do to get to that point. She wanted nothing more than to curl up in her big hotel bed and drift off to sleep before waking up the next morning and travelling home. Except things weren’t quite that simple. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She had wanted to spend as much time with Steven as possible, knowing that she once again wouldn’t have been able to see him for a while. At least not until she travelled back down to Nashville so they could catch their flight to England. It wouldn’t have been that long, they had gone on longer without seeing one another back when Steven was recording the new album. Although, it really felt as if they hadn’t been together in such a long time. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Steven played with the bottom of his tie as he waited by the elevator in the hotel lobby. He wanted to make sure that he had stuck around long enough to thank everyone for the dinner and congratulate both Max and Connie after graduating. He had managed to do both of them things and yet he still stood by the elevator awaiting Connie so he could say goodnight and goodbye after knowing that he wasn’t going to be able to see her in a few weeks. She had already agreed to sleep over at his place the night before they headed to the airport and he was more than ecstatic about the plan. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Heading home, now?" Connie queried as she stepped over to Steven as soon as her parents had disappeared into an adjacent elevator and up to their room. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Steven spent a moment appreciating her beauty, this time without the interruptions of Doug. He hadn't meant to stare, he was just incredibly in awe of how gorgeous his girlfriend was. He couldn't believe how lucky he was. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I've wanted to tell you how beautiful you look all night." Steven bit hard on his bottom lip as he shamelessly allowed his eyes to trail down her body. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Yeah?" Connie swooned, feeling incredibly flattered by his words. The same words he had spoken time and time again, yet no matter how many times he said them he always said them in such a way that she believed him. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Yeah...I've never seen this dress before. It's really pretty." </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"My parents got it for me for graduation. Well, they let me pick! It was really nice of them." Connie smiled, glancing down at Steven's tie. She hadn't been in the right mindset to have paid attention to Steven's dress wear at the dinner table, but there was something about the formal shirt and tie that made him far more attractive than usual. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Steven glanced around the lobby, wondering if there were any prying eyes - specifically Connie's parents. He was sure that they had gone up in the elevator back to their room. He had seen them do it. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I can kiss you goodbye, right?" Steven anxiously gripped onto the end of his tie, running his fingers down the silky material. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I really want you to, it's just…" </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Your parents?" </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Yeah." Connie sighed, noticing Steven's vacant expression. He missed being with her and after being so busy the past couple of weeks that had been near to impossible. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"You're still coming to mine before we catch our flight, aren't you?" Steven asked anxiously. It wasn't as if their relationship had even hinted to a point in which Connie didn't want to be a part of it anymore, but even nearly a year later, Steven was still terrified of the rejection that was bound to happen at some point. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Yes, silly. I'm still coming over." Connie gave Steven a sympathetic smile as she gently touched the top of his hand that he was using to comfort his tie. Steven glanced down. She had been to his apartment a couple of times in the past - she had even spent a whole five days there at one point. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>It wasn't much and it certainly wasn't big enough for two people - but Connie enjoyed spending time there. Steven had a small apartment, but he was an incredibly clean person. He made sure to keep the apartment in order with ease. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Can you bring the dress?" Steven smirked as he bit down on his bottom lip, looking down at the dress once more. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Why? Do you want to wear it?" Connie laughed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"It </span>
  <em>
    <span>is</span>
  </em>
  <span> a very pretty dress." Steven furrowed his eyebrows. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Connie smiled at him, appreciating the humour in his tone. She knew that he too would have looked pretty in the dress, she had helped him embrace his feminine side before. In fact, he was pretty good at it. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I'll call you. I'm sorry you can't stick around. It's just...parents." Connie sighed, wishing that things were different than they were. She didn't want to hide Steven from her parent's, but it was the only way she knew she could have been in a happy and healthy relationship with someone. It was better they didn't know. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Yeah, I know. It's okay - we'll spend time together on tour." Steven smiled happily, thinking about all of the things that they could do together when in England. Connie had already discussed all of the things that she wanted to see. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Connie glanced around the lobby to make sure her parents weren't anywhere to be seen before leaning over and planting a small kiss on his lips. Steven blushed, even the smallest romantic acts were enough to get him flustered. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Happy graduation. You deserve it. You've worked so hard." Steven smirked as he continued to nervously pull on the tie. When he had met Connie he knew from the very beginning quite how smart she was, but he didn't quite realise that meant to the point of being buried inside of textbooks the majority of the time. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Although Steven had come to visit her a lot over the year whilst she was at college, that didn't quite mean that all of the attention had been on him throughout that time. He usually had to share his time with Connie with textbooks and highlighters. Steven occasionally sat in the corner of the room playing the guitar as Connie studied, giving her live melodic tunes that would usually be played through the speaker on her phone. Steven often wrote songs as he waited for her to come to a stopping point so they could spend time together. Either way, he didn't mind - he liked being with her no matter what they were doing. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Connie had even stayed over Steven's apartment a week before a big test - a huge mistake on Connie's part. It mostly meant that Steven was holding up flashcards for the entirety of the weekend as textbooks and pens littered his bed. The only space in the apartment where any kind of activity could take place. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Thank you. I'll see you soon." Connie waved, knowing that the longer she stuck around the harder it would have been to let him leave. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Bye!" </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I love you!" Connie smiled as she stepped backwards, walking away as she blew him a kiss. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Steven comedically attempted to catch the kiss before gently placing his hand against his face and grinning widely. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I love you too!" He shouted back across the lobby as she disappeared. He sighed heavily as he pulled out his phone and immediately went to text Max. He wasn't willing to just let her believe her celebrations were over. She had graduated! That was worth staying up for. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Connie stood in the elevator and took in a deep breath. It was nice to have been able to see Steven and even getting together with her and Max's family had made the day even better. It was crazy to think that all of her hard work over four years finally boiled down to that point. There were good things to come, but she would have to wait. For now, it was all about getting back into bed and scrolling through her phone for longer than usual. She deserved that. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Connie slid her keycard in the door and unlocked the hotel room, stepping inside. She hadn't been back there since she had grabbed her things to get ready with Max. She noticed the gown and cap thrown on the end of her bed and smiled. The day was finally complete. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>There was a door in the middle of the room that Connie walked over to before tapping gently on the wood. It didn't take long for it to open with her dad standing holding the door. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I just wanted to say goodnight and...thank you. This has been really nice." Connie looked away as she spoke, a little bit embarrassed by her gratefulness. She knew her parents would have appreciated the gesture. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"We were just about to head to bed. It's been a long day." Priyanka placed a bookmark inside of the book she was reading whilst sat up on the bed. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Yeah...it has." </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"We're so proud of you, Connie. Don't ever forget that. I want you to remember this day for the rest of your life." Doug smiled over at his daughter, words couldn't express the way in which he felt about his daughter's graduation. He was both proud of her beyond belief and it was hard to get that across in words. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I will, Dad. Thank you." Connie nodded towards her father. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Well, we'd better get some sleep. We've got a long drive ahead of us tomorrow." Priyanka instructed with half a smile as she placed the book down on the bedside table. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Okay, I should probably get some rest too. Goodnight, Mom. Goodnight, Dad." Connie smirked as she waved at them both, stepping back into her own room that was joined to theirs. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Goodnight, Connie." Doug slowly shut the door behind her. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Connie stood alone by the door of her hotel room. There was so much quiet. A part of her had hoped her parents had a little more to say to her. Perhaps something a little more emotional than what she was given? Maybe that was just asking for too much? She should have been grateful for what she had been given. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She spun on her heel before kicking off her shoes and falling back onto the king-sized mattress. Her parents certainly hadn't opted for the cheap rooms and she could tell as she practically sank into the covers. Perhaps the emotional disconnect was paid for with materialistic items? It continued to bother her. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Connie knew that perhaps she should have done something with her time. Anything. A shower would have been a sensible option, getting herself out of the dress and stripping herself of makeup. However, instead of doing just that she laid with her arms either side of her staring at the patterns in the ceiling. They immediately reminded her of the lifeless ceiling of her dorm room that she had spent countless evenings staring at as she struggled to get to sleep. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She must have spent around twenty minutes staring up at the paint on the ceiling, thinking about everything that had happened to her throughout the day. She probably should have texted Max goodnight, or at least asked her how her day went. They would have seen one another in the morning for breakfast, but then just like Steven, Connie wouldn’t have seen her in a while. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Connie went to reach for her clutch that she had thrown on the bed so that she could look through her phone, she hoped that Steven hadn’t texted her whilst she was in her trance. She felt incredibly guilty knowing he was travelling home that same night, it was a eight-hour drive. She could have only imagined he would have stopped halfway and pulled out his sleeping bag so he could have spent the rest of the evening sleeping in the back of the van. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>There was a knock on the door, taking Connie by surprise. She sat up and listened carefully, making sure that the knock came from the door at the front of her hotel room and not the door that connected her room to her parents. Just as Connie went to stand up there was a quieter yet somewhat impatient second knock. Connie was somewhat confused as she walked over to the door and looked through the peephole. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Stood out in the corridor was a nervous-looking Steven who hiding something behind his back. Connie snorted slightly as she pulled open the door and gave him a stern expression. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Housekeeping?” Steven chuckled as he held out a big beautiful bouquet of flowers. It had a wide selection of different types of flowers ranging from bright yellow roses to red hypericum and orange lilies. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, Steven…” Connie sighed with a smile, taking the bouquet from him and taking a look at the small business card that came with it. She noticed he had written a small message after clearly struggling with trying to get the pen to work. </span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>‘Connie. Congratulations! I’m so proud of my super-smart girlfriend. Lots of love, Steven x.’</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>“The people in Walmart were a little mad I went in just before closing and I couldn’t make a decision. They’re not </span>
  <em>
    <span>fancy</span>
  </em>
  <span>, but I thought they were pretty. Well, they were all very pretty. It was hard to choose.” Steven shrugged before running his fingers through his hair. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“They’re wonderful.” Connie was surprised by how fresh they were and how nice they smelled. It wasn’t the first time he had brought her flowers, the romantic within him meant that he occasionally came to her college with a bouquet in hand. Connie always appreciated his small gestures, they meant the world to her. “How did you know which room was mine?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, I texted Max.” Steven admitted as he stood awkwardly out in the corridor. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, right. Max...” Connie laughed, attempting to keep her voice down as much as possible. She stared back down at the bouquet before looking back up at Steven for a moment. “I’d invite you in, but...my parents are next door.” She whispered as she poked her head out of the door and looked down either side of the corridor. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I can be quiet.” Steven smirked as he adjusted his tie. He resisted the flirtatious urge to say ‘can you’? Connie knew exactly what he was thinking. She contemplated her choices, already feeling incredibly guilty about sending him home without spending time with him. He had travelled all that way.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Connie cradled the flowers in one arm as she poked her head out of the door once more and grabbed Steven by the tie, gently pulling him into her room. He didn’t argue about being pulled along, happily accepting the invitation of going inside of the room. Connie placed the flowers on the table beside the door as she continued to reel Steven in with his tie. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m serious, if my parents find out you’re in here I’ll never be allowed out ever again.” Connie whispered as if she wasn’t twenty-two and completely in control of her own life. It continued to be plagued by her parent’s ruling. Steven hated being a secret, but he was willing to play along.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay. Super quiet...” Steven placed his finger over his mouth and tried his hardest not to giggle. Connie watched as he closed the door behind him with his foot, making a surprisingly loud noise. Connie’s expression dropped dramatically. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That was really loud!” Connie complained in an aggressive whisper. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sorry. Hm, I didn’t expect it to shut like that.” Steven once again tried to hide his immature giggling through whispers. Connie wanted to be mad at his inability to be silent, but his adorable giggles only meant that she couldn’t resist laughing along with him. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Steven couldn’t help but notice she was still in the beautiful teal dress that she had been in throughout the evening. Now she was barefoot she had fallen back down to his same height, the heels were previously causing her to have been an inch or two taller. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I really want you to stay the night...” Connie stepped over to Steven, making sure to get as close as possible so it was easier for him to hear her as she spoke softly. All she really wanted was to have woken up cuddled up beside Steven. It was a crime against their own emotions to have been away from one another without a proper goodbye. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, you know I don’t snore. I’ll be quiet.” Steven persisted, trying to get his way around staying the night as he finally touched his hands on her sides for the first time since they had last been together packing up her dorm room. He had missed her so much. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hm, you snore a little bit.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“How would you know? You’re asleep!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t snore.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I never said lots - just a little bit. It’s kind of cute.” Connie snickered as she gently pushed herself against her boyfriend as he held her close. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Kind of cute, huh? Okay, maybe I snore a bit.” Steven winked, finally accepting his fate to be a snorer. They chuckled to one another as they held their foreheads together. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Connie was the first one to go in for the kiss, it had become second nature to latch their lips together without even thinking about it. It had been something that they had gotten used to when they were on tour together the year before, but now it was just something that they had done so many times that they could have never come up with a number. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Steven found himself lost in the moment the second that her lips touched his. That was his cue to lose himself with her. He wanted her more than anything. He had missed her so much. He loved her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Connie furthered the kiss as she tugged on his tie, pulling him closer towards her with every kiss. It was as if there was an unbreakable connection between the two of them, gravity pulling them together as if they didn’t have a choice. Gravity could have pulled them together however much it liked. She wasn’t complaining.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Except she was suddenly snapped back into reality as she realised where she was. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>In a room next door to her parents.  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Steven...my...parents…” Connie attempted to speak as he continued his pursuit of kisses against her lips. “...they’re going to...hear us…” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Despite Connie’s words, she still continued to drag him through into the room by his tie. Their lips only unlatched when speech was to be heard, other than that they were tightly pressed together. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Five minutes...then...I’ll go. I promise.” Steven assured her with a smile, softly pulling away before making his way down to her neck. Connie welcomed his touch as she noticed the backs of her legs had touched the bottom of the bed. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Since when has </span>
  <em>
    <span>this </span>
  </em>
  <span>only ever taken you five minutes?” Connie wished he could have seen her cock an eyebrow at his comment, but instead he continued to bury his head into her neck. A collection of kisses and nips that made her let out the subtle moans he so desperately wanted to hear. Connie quickly covered her mouth in embarrassment - if her parents walked through that door her entire life was over. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Steven had learnt to take his time when it came to sex. With previous sexual partners, it had always been about what they demanded from Steven. With Connie - he made love. She always made it feel incredibly loving and romantic. They had an incredibly positive relationship, especially when it came to sex. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We have two </span>
  <em>
    <span>whole</span>
  </em>
  <span> weeks together in the UK. That’s when I’ll take my time.” Steven purred in her ear as she slowly fell back on the bed under the force of his kisses. Connie giggled at the thought as she threaded her fingers through his hair, allowing him to continue to press against her. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Steven kissed her with intent, it had been a while since they had kissed that way. Passionate and hot. Kisses that made Connie weak in her knees and Steven’s heart pound. Over and over their kisses continued as she allowed his hands to run along the edges of the silky dress. He wasn’t so much looking for an opening, but more or less teasing the idea. Connie hated him for it. She wanted him so badly. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Uh, Steven - we </span>
  <em>
    <span>can’t</span>
  </em>
  <span>!” Connie sighed in a whisper as Steven held himself up above her, looking down with a slight pout. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Alright..." He gently crawled off Connie and laid himself down beside her on the bed. He stared at the ceiling with his hands on his stomach - looking up at the same spot Connie had been studying earlier. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Connie felt bad about rejecting his advances, rolling onto her side and leaning on her elbow. She moved the tie that had fallen off his chest back into position as he looked up at her and smiled sweetly. She gently brushed back his hair before kissing him on the forehead. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Thank you for coming today. I’m glad you were here.” Connie kissed his temple before moving down to his cheek. “And for the flowers - they’re very pretty.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re the prettiest flower of them all.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Really?” Connie snorted at his flirtatious attempt, running her finger across his hairline. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Always.” Steven grinned as he turned his head to face her. Connie laid her head down beside him before once again kissing him softly. She really was going to miss him when she went back to Beach City for the next couple of weeks. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re going to be okay driving back, right?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Me, driving? Yeah! I’ll be fine.” Steven smirked, he was the ultimate destroyer of long-distance travel. He was pretty skilled at it. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay, but just be careful.” Connie gently placed her hand on his chest as he reached up to place his hand on hers. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m always careful.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, I know.” Connie planted another quick kiss on his curled lips. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>It wasn’t long before she managed to gently coax Steven out of her room, painfully wanting him to stay the night. She knew that wouldn’t have been a very good idea - unless he wanted to camp out in the bathtub. She didn’t give him that option, knowing that he probably would have taken it. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She eventually wiggled her way out of the dress and tucked herself into bed, finally getting to the point in the evening when she felt as if she could flick through her phone for the next hour before sleeping after an overdose of blue light. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She noticed she had a text from Steven. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Connie went to unlock her phone, her lock screen was a photograph of her and Max standing on their kitchen table in their dorm room in sunglasses striking questionable poses. Max insisted on taking the image after one of their ridiculous afternoons together - they had been studying far too much and their actions were fuelled by caffeine. However, when she unlocked her phone her home screen told another story. An image of half of her face in a pillow with Steven snuggled up behind her, his face pressed against hers with a smile. Connie wasn’t quite sure if she had even meant to have taken the photo - but she loved it. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She clicked on her messages and opened the one from Steven:</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>‘I can’t believe the most beautiful girl in the world is now a college grad. I’m the luckiest man alive because she calls ME her boyfriend lol. I wish we could spend more time together. I miss u. :( But only 14 days until the UK! Woo! I’ll call u tomorrow. Goodnight, I hope u sleep well. I love u soooooooooooooooooo much. xoxoxoxo’</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Connie allowed the phone to fall to her chest as she took a deep breath in and smiled. </span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Manchester</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>The band land down in the United Kingdom. Tired and emotionally vacant they play their first show overseas.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>It had been a couple of weeks since graduation when they all met in Nashville to catch their flight over to the UK. Connie had been staying in Beach City with her parents since she had been kicked out of her dorm after leaving college. It was strange to have moved all of her things back home, knowing that she never would have been able to return to the college that she had spent the past four years of her life living in. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>That didn’t mean to say that she wasn’t on a video call with Max and the band every single day leading up to the tour. Even Greg had jumped on the call a few times to run through what it was that they were doing when they got to the UK - he had mapped it out very specifically for them to follow. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Greg had put a lot of effort into making sure that the tour overseas went as smoothly as possible. He wasn’t too keen on the idea of Steven and the band staying in stranger’s houses that he perhaps wouldn’t have been able to save him from quite so quickly overseas, so Greg insisted on buying them hotel rooms for every night of the tour. Steven protested for a while, despite the rest of the band keeping quiet. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to stay in hotel rooms, but it was more down to the fact his father was spending money on him when he shouldn’t have been. Greg had millions - but that was beside the point. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Steven, however, was excited to know that his father had been kind enough to book three rooms in each hotel. He knew that Max and Connie were going on the adventure with them and wanted to make them as part of the crew as the rest of the band. Connie had made Steven so happy over the last year that the least Greg could do in return is pay for everything on their trip to the UK. Admittedly, it was chump change to him. Connie had a lot to comment on when it came to rich people, but always noticed Greg’s philanthropy.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>With three hotel rooms each night, it meant that Buck and Sour Cream could have a room. Max and Jenny could have a room. Then, of course, Steven and Connie could share a room. The only double room that Greg had purchased for each hotel. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It had been a busy couple of months leading up to the tour. With everything from the end of college to preparing to travel overseas for a brand new tour. It had been hard for both Steven and Connie to get the chance to spend some time together. It didn’t matter too much, they knew that they would have been able to spend as much time as possible together when in the UK. At least, that was the plan. With everything being cleared when it came to both tour preparation and college it would have been nice to have spent the summer figuring things out together. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>They all stood inside the airport in Nashville awaiting their flight. Once again, Greg had arranged for someone on the other side to handle all of their gear. It was good to know that they didn’t have to worry about it, considering it was a pretty big thing to forget. Greg always had them covered though and Steven knew the gear was in good hands. If anything happened to his Telecaster he would have been incredibly upset. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s going to be nice not to have to drive so much.” Jenny sighed as she leant back in the incredibly uncomfortable airport seating. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“A couple of hours each stop. Sounds pretty nice.” Steven smirked, it would have been great not to have spent over eight hours driving. America was just far too big. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Didn’t you say Greg hired us a van?” Max questioned, holding her backpack between her legs as a tannoy in the airport informed the passengers of a flight delay that thankfully wasn’t theirs. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Apparently, it’s super nice - but Steven can’t drive it!” Jenny jeered before playfully poking Steven in the shoulder. He furrowed his eyebrows with slight distaste. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“How come?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Stupid British driving laws. You have to be twenty-five to hire a car!” Steven sighed. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Not strictly true, but it’s a lot harder to hire one when you’re underage. Besides, the driving is short - Jenny’s up for it.” Connie spoke to Max before nudging Steven as she sat on the bench next to him. It was nice to have been with Steven after spending the past two weeks apart. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Connie had slept in Steven’s apartment the previous night, finally getting to wake up together for the first time in what felt like months. It had nearly been a month or two. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh yeah, I am!” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“As long as you remember to drive on the left.” Buck gave a sensible suggestion, a little bit worried that they would have ended up in a ditch from their habits of driving on the opposite side of the road. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Europe is all back to front." Max sighed. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Or maybe America is just backwards..." Sour Cream commented, suddenly making everyone think about what he had just said. They all stared into nothingness for a moment. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Yeah, you're right." Jenny nodded in agreement, America was backwards in the worst of ways - not just in their driving ability. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It wasn’t long before the band was boarding the plane. Despite the amount that Steven travelled, he certainly wasn’t a fan of airports. Max suddenly didn’t quite see the fun in them either - especially as her bra made her bleep on the way through security triggering a small search. Max didn’t exactly enjoy the touch of a random guard invading her personal space, but she took a deep breath and allowed it to happen. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Each of them touched the outside of the plane as they boarded, something that Sour Cream had insisted on everyone doing for superstitious purposes of luck. It was to help wish them all a safe flight. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Steven managed to nab the window seat, Connie in the middle and Max out in the aisle. Buck had the luxury of also getting the window seat, Sour Cream in the middle and Jenny on the end in the row in front of everyone else. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Connie noticed Steven’s nerves as it came to take off and made sure to hold his hand through it all, watching his knee shake nervously up and down. The flight to London was just over eight hours long before they immediately hopped onto another plane and flew over to Manchester. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Throughout the flight everyone had attempted to keep themselves entertained, mostly through watching movies, listening to music and sleeping. It was an overnight flight and they knew as soon as they landed they would have been exhausted. They were landing in Manchester around midday, it would have given them enough time to sort themselves out before playing their first show in the evening. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Steven would have been lying if he said he wasn’t nervous. He had only ever played shows in America before, so going somewhere completely different would have been interesting. He had never met any fans from overseas. He didn’t even quite know that there was that much demand other than the people shouting at him on social media about doing a UK tour. They really wanted them there. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>After their newest album, they started to pick up in popularity. Not much, but enough within the scene to be mentioned on r/emo every couple of days. It was nice to have a positive buzz around them, they were all incredibly proud of their latest album. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Max consumed a few too many peanuts on the plane and even had something to drink, before realising how early in the morning it was. It didn’t matter - she was on vacation! Well, part of it was work. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Max had agreed to run the merch stand throughout their UK tour. This meant that all she needed to do was to stand behind the merch at the beginning of the show, find herself in the most pit and then at the very end of the show scurry back to sell t-shirts and records to fans who were desperate to buy merchandise without any stupid shipping fees. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“So, how did it go? You never mentioned anything about it.” Steven suddenly brought up a conversation topic to Connie as he noticed everyone else around them was engrossed in a movie or asleep. He moved his thumb gently around her palm as he spoke, both of them leaning on the armrest in the middle. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What was that?” Connie questioned, pulling out of her earbuds to hear him better, finally noticing that he was talking to her. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Your parents. You were going to tell your parents about us - right? How did they take it?” Steven had been thinking about it for a long time. Perhaps too long. Just under a year ago, he had gone to Connie’s college and after a conversation with Max had discovered that Connie’s parents were a huge part of her life. A huge part of her love life. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Except for Steven. She claimed it was best she didn’t want them to ruin her relationship with him or for them to drive her away. In a way, she was right. Although, she had also told Steven that after she had college sorted that she would tell them about her relationship. Otherwise, when she moved back home things would have been a lot more difficult for them both. Steven certainly wouldn’t have been able to go and see her in Beach City with her parents around and Connie most definitely wouldn’t have a valid excuse for going to Nashville. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“My...Steven, I haven’t spoken to them yet.” Connie admitted. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh. But you-”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah, I know. After the tour.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“But you said-”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I know what I said, but I’m putting it on hold.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You’ve put it on hold the whole time we’ve been together.” Steven threw his other hand outwards to express his frustration, turning away and shaking his head. He would have been lying if he wasn’t hurt by Connie’s inability to tell her parents about him. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It continued to haunt him that perhaps he wasn’t a permanent addition to Connie’s life. If he was, then wouldn’t she want him to meet her parents? After going home from the tour things would have become a lot more complicated when it came to their long-distance relationship if Connie didn’t take a few minutes out of her day to explain she was dating someone. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You know it’s complicated.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Too</span>
  </em>
  <span> complicated.” Steven pouted out the window, resting his chin on his hand as he continued to hold Connie’s hand with the other. He found it hard to be mad at her for very long, he didn’t want to be mad at her at all. Except a part of him was. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Was he still not good enough? </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"I'll tell them. I will." </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"You've been saying that for nearly a year. It just doesn't seem like it's ever going to happen..." Steven practically mumbled into his palm, continuing to stare out of the window. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Steven..." Connie sighed, feeling guilty that she couldn't tell her parents in the way that she wanted. It seemed like something that would have been so easy and yet it was the hardest thing possible. She certainly didn't want to argue with him. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"It's fine. I'll drop it." Steven sighed, keeping his hand holding hers as he kept his eyes locked on the window. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Connie glanced over to Max who had fallen asleep with her headphones on, she certainly admired her ability to sleep on the plane. She thought that she could perhaps do the same, despite having guilt on her mind when it came to Steven and her parents. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She had to tell them. It would have to wait until after the tour. There was no way that she would have been able to break the news to them whilst she was thousands of miles away. They wouldn't have been happy. Well, they would have been a lot unhappier with that option than potentially breaking the news in person. Either way, she knew it wouldn't have gone down well. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She was terrified of what their response could have been. It was probable that telling them would ruin her perfect relationship, although it seemed as if by not telling them she was continuing to hurt Steven. There was only so long that Steven could have put up with being her secret. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Do you want to try and get some sleep?” Connie questioned, showing her concern for his well being. She gripped tightly onto his hand as she noticed him staring out of the window where most of what he saw were dark clouds.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’ll be fine.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Are you sure?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah, I’ll be fine.” Steven pressed his lips into a thin line before smiling at Connie and kissing her cheek. He had to try his hardest to ignore the one thing on his mind. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Connie didn’t quite believe him as she played with his fingers and rested her head against his shoulder to use him as a pillow. He didn’t mind one bit. What he did mind was the fact that his girlfriend’s parents had no idea he existed. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We’ve sold out half of the shows in the UK - isn’t that crazy?” Sour Cream pushed his phone through the seats to show Steven the numbers. Steven was a little reluctant to believe it, but it seemed to have been true. Connie kept herself against Steven as she listened to them talk. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Greg had only booked them into small venues throughout the UK, wanting to gauge how much interest they had in a different country. The success of this tour would determine whether or not Greg could get them to play anywhere else - potentially even an entire tour around Europe. Only time would tell. For now, he was starting them off easy with the UK and the UK only. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m sure we’ll put on some awesome shows!” Steven grinned back at Sour Cream, more than ready to have spent the new week or so shredding his guitar on stage. It would have been nice to have played the new songs in front of a crowd. They had done a few odd shows here and there throughout the states since the release of their album for promotion, but they wanted to start with the UK tour before Greg set them up with yet another tour of the states. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Man, I really hope that the British go hard.” Sour Cream sighed with a smile, sitting back in his seat and continuing to scroll through his phone. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Historically - the British always go hard.” Connie snorted, unhappy that Max was asleep with her headphones in and wasn’t about to hear her historical zinger. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Surprisingly, the flight didn’t take a long as they thought. Touching down in London and almost immediately hopping on another flight to Manchester. They pottered around Heathrow and noticed that the airport was just about as stressful as any other airport they had ever been to. It didn’t matter where in the world it was - there was always something stressful going on. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The flight from London to Manchester felt as if it lasted seconds in comparison to the flight from Nashville. In a way, an hour-long flight was a lot easier in more ways than one. Luckily, the skies were practically clear that morning meaning that they could see the entirety of England below them as they flew. Sour Cream got a little freaked out as he thought about planes staying in the air despite their weight. It then got everyone thinking the same thing. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>After Sour Cream irked everyone with anxiety, the plane was due to land. Everything was on schedule and they were pretty excited to get started on their overseas tour. They did, however, need to go and pick up the van from the airport that Greg had hired for the duration of the tour. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Welcome to the land of the tea! A place where middle-aged men value beer and soccer over traditional family values and everyone speaks like they have a stick wedged inside their asshole! Woo! Crumpets and shit!” Max threw her hands either side of her as they stepped into Manchester airport. They were finally free. Star Destroyers - let loose in another country. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It would have only been chaos. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Have you ever been to England before?” Jenny questioned Max as they all held their luggage close to them. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Nope. Always wanted to go. Have you seen what these guys eat for </span>
  <em>
    <span>breakfast</span>
  </em>
  <span>?” Max gasped, thinking about how she was going to have treated herself to a full English breakfast every opportunity that she got. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Steven knew that the next thing they needed to do was to find the van that they had hired. It was a simple thing, but Steven didn’t want to be side-tracked by the task that they had to complete. He was a little tired and just wanted to find the hotel and crash for a while before having to play a show. They didn’t have very long, but he was at least going to have tried to get some rest. He was excited, but that didn’t mean he was still a little nervous to have played. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Eventually, they made their way over to the car hire and stated their name only for a man to flick through some paperwork, request Jenny’s driving licence and then find them a pair of keys. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“So, this is the Volkswagen Caravelle. You have seven seats, two-litre turbo-diesel engine, a full built-in navigation system, storage out of your ears, more cup holders than anyone would ever have cups, there’s even a table in the back, parking cameras and well...it’s big. You’ll be returning it to our London branch when you’re finished with it.” The assistant sighed as he watched the entire band’s face light up at the van. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>This was nothing like Steven’s van. It was shiny. It was new. It had cup holders! </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Woah!” Buck audibly gasped, thinking that Greg was more than likely to have gotten them a van that was just as beaten up as Steven’s and yet there they were in front of one of the nicest vehicles that they had seen. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’d shotgun, but I really want to sit in the back with the table!” Max claimed as they popped open the trunk and began to throw their luggage inside. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Wow, thanks, car man.” Buck patted the assistant’s shoulder. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Steven grumbled slightly at the sight. It wasn’t as if he wasn’t grateful for his dad going all out on the trip, but the eccentric van certainly topped it off. Greg wanted to treat them and it sure was showing. Connie noticed his slight disconnect from the situation, he certainly didn’t look as happy as the rest of them. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Everyone buckled up?” Jenny glanced into the rearview mirror as she saw everyone in the back. The van was a lot more spacious than Steven’s and it meant that they were able to spread themselves out a lot more. The two seats in the very middle were facing the back, meaning that Sour Cream and Max were facing Steven and Connie. The fancy van, however, did have the option to spin the seats around if they so desired. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Jenny flicked on the navigation system, Boogle Maps loaded itself up on the screen and she inputted their first destination. It wasn’t too far away from the airport itself and meant that it wasn’t a very long drive. Although, it was long enough for Jenny to try and get used to driving on a different side of the road. It didn’t take long for her to pick it up. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Steven stared out of the tinted window and took note of what Manchester was like. It seemed rather...industrial. Everything was built up to accommodate everyone’s busy lifestyle and every billboard they passed seemed to have been advertising high street fashion. Steven knew that Manchester had a decent skateboarding scene and was pretty sad that they couldn’t have accommodated to bring their boards with them. It would have been fun to skate there. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Steven wished he could have looked a lot happier now that he was in a new place. There was so much for them to have explored - although he had heard that Liverpool was somewhat nicer. Manchester held all sorts of things that he was willing to explore, including what looked like a huge shopping mall attempting to have tried looking more American than it would have liked to have admitted. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It wasn’t long before they piled out of the van, grabbed all their things and headed into their new hotel. They checked in pretty quickly, Steven had barely said a word since they had gotten off the plane. Despite that, he had spent the whole time holding Connie’s hand. She took note of his vacancy, it wasn’t very often that he got that quiet. What had gotten into him? Was it because of her parents? Was he just tired? </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>They all agreed to meet in the lobby at four, giving them just over an hour to get ready for the show. As soon as Connie opened the hotel room door, Steven didn’t hesitate to flop himself down in the middle of the bed. He didn’t like to admit when he was exhausted, but he hadn’t been able to sleep on the plane in the same way as everyone else. Flying was a little scary and he couldn’t have fallen asleep if it meant something bad might have happened in the meantime. He wanted to be awake, or at least as awake as he could get. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Are you okay?” Connie chuckled as he buried his head into the covers. She went and sat on the edge of the bed and gently stroked the top of his head. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Just tired.” Steven sighed into the sheets. A combination of being tired and the looming idea that once the tour was over his girlfriend would leave him over the complicated long-distance relationship that they couldn’t keep because she hadn’t told her parents about them. He felt awful. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I can always set an alarm if you want to nap?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hmmm maybe.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m setting an alarm.” Connie chuckled, noticing Steven’s inability to protest. Although Connie was somewhat tired, it wasn’t quite enough for her to want to spend the next hour sleeping. It would have been a good opportunity for her to continue searching for jobs in or around Beach City. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Connie sat on the bed with her back against the pillows and headboard, Steven removed his face from the covers and shuffled upwards so he could lay beside his girlfriend. He made sure to kick off his Vans before doing so, knowing how irritated she would have been if he had kept his shoes on. He wrapped his arm around Connie and snuggled up to her as he shut his eyes. Connie allowed him to sleep just under her arm, still allowing her to flick through his phone at potential job opportunities in the area. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Curiosity got the better of her, even checking out jobs in Nashville. There were a lot more opportunities there than there were in Beach City. She pondered on the thought for a moment. Moving to Nashville? She didn’t have the money or the means for something like that. Sure, she had Steven - but that wasn’t a pragmatic solution to the problem. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Connie sighed heavily, noticing Steven's change in breathing. She ran her fingers through his hair as she balanced the back of her head on the headboard. There wasn't much she could have done other than aimlessly scrolling through her phone to see things that didn't quite make sense. Memes and such. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She scrolled through her phone with one hand, her social media feeds were still clogged with photographs from graduation. It was good to know that she was now a graduate, but the idea still didn't sit quite right for her. She had spent all the time doing all that work for...she didn't know what. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It seemed as if everyone around her already had it all figured out. It didn't seem fair. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She allowed Steven to nap for a solid forty minutes, for the most part just zoning out with her thoughts as he cuddled up to her. She made sure to continue to comfort him by petting his head softly. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Eventually, Connie woke him up from his slumber just before her alarm went off. He immediately rolled over and stretched himself out, Connie getting up to make sure that they were both ready for the show in the evening. She immediately hopped into the bathroom to change her clothes for the evening, not wanting to have been stuck in the clothes she had been travelling in. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"I am going to tell them. I just...I'm nervous." Connie admittedly as she brushed her hair in front of the mirror, Steven sat on the end of the bed with his head in his hands. He was incredibly tired and the nap had only helped slightly. He looked up at her words, noticing that she was talking to him. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"I know..." Steven sighed as he stood up from the bed and brushed off the front of his jacket and t-shirt. He was ready for the show. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"I'm sorry it's taken this long." </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Steven walked over to Connie and wrapped his arms around her, resting his chin on her shoulder as he watched her smile in the mirror. He couldn't be mad at her, even if he tried. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"It's okay." Steven kissed her cheek as she watched him in the reflection of the mirror. He held himself there for a while before she turned her head to kiss him gently on the lips. He smiled at her touch.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It wasn't okay - but once again he was willing to swallow his resentment for her inability to tell the truth to her parents and solely focus on how much love he had for her. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It didn't take them very long before they were at the venue, ready to play. They had enjoyed spending another ten minutes inside of the van. It was far too comfortable and each of them internally wished that Steven would have upgraded his van back in the US to match the one that they had hired. There was no way he would have been able to afford that. He certainly wouldn't have asked Greg for a handout either. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Max had gone out and brought them all sandwiches from the sub shop next door. Max took pride in her new role as a runner, doing just about everything for the band was everything she wanted to do and more. Running the merch stand was the best part. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"I can't believe you brought the toy." Connie chuckled as she folded one of the t-shirts on the table and glanced over at the small toy wolf sat on the table with the vast amount of Star Destroyers merchandise. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Toy? You mean our </span>
  <em>
    <span>son</span>
  </em>
  <span>? I wasn't going to just </span>
  <em>
    <span>abandon</span>
  </em>
  <span> him, C-Section." Max furrowed her eyebrows as she patted the top of the wolf's head. Connie grumbled slightly at the bizarre nickname. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Just don't...lose it." Connie sighed, a little afraid that Max would have lost the stuffed animal in England. Connie certainly wasn’t going to have been the one to spend all night and day looking for it. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"I'm guarding him with my life. Anyone touches him and I'll push them in the nearest volcano." Max nodded before pinning up a t-shirt on the wall behind her along with the price in pound sterling. Max loved her role within the band and it seemed as if Greg was even paying her slightly for the job, despite her attempting to reject the offer over and over. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"There isn't any volcanoes around here."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Okay, well, it'll have to be an incredibly warm bath. They're not getting any bubble bath though." Max squinted at the thought. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>If Greg had put money towards getting someone to run the merch stand in the past then he may as well have given it to someone who wanted to have done the job. Max was incredibly good at selling the merch, all she wanted to do was to speak to people about their favourite bands and sell them the highest quality cotton printed band t-shirts around. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It was interesting for Connie and Max to have been able to stick around as they did their soundchecks. They mostly left them to their business of setting everything up, they pretty much owned the merch stand. Connie loved to help out and back in the states they had played a few shows between the last tour where they helped out with the merchandise together. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Connie couldn’t help but notice Steven being somewhat vacant from the role. She didn’t quite think it was due to him being tired, but more or less the idea of having to play another set of shows. As much as he refused to admit it to her, she knew that he was a little bit nervous when it came to playing overseas. He didn’t quite know how the crowd would react to them in comparison to what they were used to. It could have been the same or it could have been something completely different. There was no way of being able to tell. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Most of Steven’s grogginess had come from the flight, but there was a lot of it that came from the sheer guilt of seeing how much Greg had put into the tour and the emotional torture that came with Connie's silence. He should have just shut up and been thankful the same as everyone else, but the guilt of having his father pay for everything fancy for the band was guilt that ate away at him. He wasn’t sure why. Perhaps it was his independence and pride that it destroyed? </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Steven certainly didn’t want to be that way, but he had been attempting to live his life independently from his family since he was seventeen years old. He didn’t have much to account for when it came to riches like money - unlike his family. Steven had copious amounts of money to his name. Money that he didn’t want. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Money that his mother had made throughout her career. Money that she continued to make despite being dead. The idea made Steven incredibly uncomfortable. He didn’t want that money in the slightest. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Soon, people began to flood into the venue as the band sat out in the room in the back. The venue that they were playing in was a lot smaller from the venues that they had been playing in the states. As Greg wasn’t quite sure how well the tour would sell overseas, most of the shows were in venues that barely tapped the six-hundred mark when it came to capacity. Considering they were on the cusp of selling out one-thousand capacity venues in the USA - this was pretty impressive. With most of the UK tour sold out, it just showed that they could have increased the capacity if they so desired. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Unless we ask some fans, we’re never going to be able to source weed here.” Jenny groaned as she tipped her head back on the dirty couch. The one attribute to most of the venues that they had been in whenever they had toured. It even seemed to have been the case in the UK that venues always gave bands a shitty place to hang out. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Bummer.” Buck sighed, the legalities of the UK meant that getting ahold of the substance would have been a little harder than usual. It wasn’t as if they could have taken any with them. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I could always offer someone free entry if they bring us some?” Sour Cream pointed to his phone, suggesting the idea of posting on social media to try and source a supplier. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Stick to the beers, it’s cool.” Steven passed each member of the band an unopened beer as they all awaited their time to go on stage. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“If it comes to it, we can probably survive just under two weeks.” Jenny pressed her lips together. A tour certainly wouldn’t have been a tour without weed. Steven knew that better than anyone. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>However, over what was nearly a whole year with Connie he had certainly reduced his weed consumption. It wasn’t as if Connie was particularly against him smoking, but he knew things would have been better off if he didn’t. He didn’t want to have to rely on it so much to help him in his everyday life. He didn’t quite need it so much now that he was with Connie, anyway. She helped support him a lot more than he would have liked to have admitted. His therapist knew all about her. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You guys can do it - it’ll be fine!” Connie insisted, as the only person in the room who didn’t smoke. She was excited to have heard them play for the first night in the UK and sat on the opposite couch beside Max and Buck. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It will be fine, but </span>
  <em>
    <span>weed</span>
  </em>
  <span>.” Max sighed, mimicking Jenny’s action by throwing her head back on the couch. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“The good kush.” Buck grinned. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I need to make myself drunk enough to make up for it. Eh, that seems like a fair exchange.” Jenny shrugged before taking a large swig of the beer she was holding. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>There wasn’t much time before the start of the show. Although Connie had found herself in the middle of the crowd a couple of times at shows now, she was more than happy to have spent her time at the side of the stage. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Connie stood off to the side as the band made their way onto the stage in front of her. The venue had filled up enough to force everyone to the back of the room. It wasn’t as if it was a huge venue, but big enough to house all of the fans they had that evening. They were all both nervous and excited to have played their first show overseas. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>After being in the back and fist-bumping accordingly, the band walked over to their instruments on the stage. As Steven passed Connie, he made sure to kiss her quickly on the lips before jogging over to the stage to catch up with the rest of the band. Connie smiled as she watched him pick up the red Telecaster and throw the strap over his head. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Connie had seen him play more times than she could count, but every single time was a new experience. Not only that, but she had also witnessed his music in various forms. Including, but not limited to him pacing around his apartment in his underwear at six in the morning with an acoustic guitar after waking up from a dream where he had heard a new song. He had to make sure that he remembered it at the moment as Connie pushed her head into the pillow and groaned. Why did his best song ideas have to come at such bizarre hours of the morning?</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Connie had even attended solo shows that Steven had done, stripped-down acoustic versions of some of the brutal emo songs that he usually sang every night. It was nice to hear his voice in all its glory when he wasn’t using it to howl down a microphone. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>As Steven saw the smiling faces of the crowd in front of him, he remembered why he loved shows so much. Despite being somewhat tired from the plane journey, he had a show to play that he would have put all his effort into. There was no way that he wouldn’t have tried his hardest no matter what. He needed to stop thinking bad thoughts when it came to his anxiety of playing shows overseas. He needed to stop getting so down on himself when it came to his father treating them. He needed to stop thinking about his relationship on the line. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Steven had convinced himself that the UK would have been a great opportunity for him to have spent it with Connie now that she had graduated and wouldn’t have college to worry about. They hadn’t spent very long together in the past couple of months. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Steven was surprised to notice that the crowd almost instantly began to bop to every one of his songs. The same kind of energy that the gigs in the states showed - if not, more. Steven was incredibly impressed and spent a lot of the time staring back at the band in wonderment before glancing over at Connie with a smile. Connie would often stand still, moving her knee ever so slightly to the beat as she occasionally gave them a thumbs up or blew kisses over to Steven. Occasionally, she would peek her head out a little more and make sure that Max wasn’t on the floor of the mosh pit. Usually, she was on top of it. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The show was certainly one that they were going to remember for a long time. Everything went just as they wanted it to have, despite being their first time playing a lot of their new album live. Everyone seemed to have responded to the new songs well and the reception of purchases at the merch table was incredibly good. Max had done pretty well in selling them to everyone that passed. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Stephen Space-Wolf had sat on the side of the table with his misaligned eyes as he stared into every single person’s soul. He was there to convince them to buy merch, of course. Who wouldn’t want to buy merchandise from an adorable plushie animal? He was a good salesman. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Woah, you sold loads of merch, Max!” Connie commented on the sheer amount of stock that had gone on the first night of the tour. They probably didn’t have any t-shirts left in a medium, that was always the way. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What can I say? Entrepreneur in the streets, businesswoman of the year 2021 in the sheets.” Max popped her imaginary collar. Connie was genuinely impressed with the amount of merchandise she had sold. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Did Stephen Space-Wolf help?” Connie patted the top of the plushie’s head. Hilariously, the plushie wolf had become the mascot for the band. A lot of the UK merch had a cartoon wolf on it, specifically one with a cartoon wolf in sunglasses sitting on the moon. Connie liked that one - it was weird, but fitting. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Max was the one who decided to use Stephen Space-Wolf as the base design for all of their merch to help tie in with their new album. His name was fitting and the idea of a large wolf called Stephen floating through space destroying stars and protecting planets was an incredibly strange yet unique concept. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Max had spent hours sitting up at the table in their kitchen sketching out images of a cartoon wolf in space. Max could somewhat draw, but wasn’t quite satisfied with the designs. She took her sketches to a good friend on campus, Bud. Bud took the sketches and went to work on making the merch designs. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>After Bud had finished the commissions, Max took the art that she had spent copious amounts of money on creating and presented them to the band. She had never been happier when the band fell in love with her concept and greenlit the ideas for merchandise. When Greg Universe got the email regarding the extensive backstory for the wolf, he certainly scratched his head at the concept - but quickly accepted the idea. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well, a little bit. I don’t want him taking all the credit.” Max winked before taking a deep breath. “I actually have a rap I’ve been working on to help sell more.” Max placed her hands on her hips. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh really?” Connie cocked an eyebrow, interested to hear what she had to say. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Are you ready?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Always.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Max took another deep breath before forcing herself into the zone, it was a shame there was nobody around to drop a beat - she did it anyway. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Yo my name is Max, you want a baseball cap? I have hoodies too, I got so much that you can choose! Do you want a vinyl? It’s the analogue revival. Limited prints for your bedroom or for your second home back in Tennessee. Buy a CD and get a sticker for free. Buy a grinder, get buzzed like a honey bee. I can take your P’s through cash, card or Paypal, B. Star Destroyers on the block, get the merch whilst it’s hot, every song is a bop, that’s right Max told y’all - WASSUP! Oh! Oh! Star Destroyers on the block, get the merch while it’s hot, every song is a bop, that’s right! Max told y’all WASSUP!”</span>
  </em>
  <span> Max spat out the rhyme whilst rapidly waving her hands in different directions. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Connie stood there in sheer shock. She certainly hadn’t expected that to come out of her mouth. It was good. Really good. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Woah, that was intense...” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well, what can I say? Rap god material.” Max brushed her shoulders off with a small pout.  </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The band eventually made their way back to their hotel after the show that they had played. They were incredibly exhausted from all of the travel that they had done throughout the day and were more than prepared to have passed out in their hotel rooms without a moment’s notice. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>There was no hesitation for Steven as he stripped down to his boxers and immediately climbed inside of the bed, he hadn’t been that tired in quite a while and could have possibly have slept over twelve hours if someone was willing to let him - probably not. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>By the time Connie had turned off all the lights in the room and crawled into bed beside him, he was already asleep. She didn’t mind, knowing just how tired he was from the previous day. She too was incredibly tired and would have welcomed the rest. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Connie laid on her pillow and stared up at the ceiling, tucking herself underneath the covers. This was certainly the start of something different. The idea of what was to come worried Connie and yet...she couldn't stop thinking about it. </span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Newcastle</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Steven finds a reminder of his past incredibly troubling.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Steven refused to be a downer for the entire trip. He had to make sure to keep things to himself if they were truly getting on his nerves. Well, he mostly just needed to get over himself when it came to swallowing his pride. His father wanted to reward them for all their hard work, so why not treat them to hotel rooms and a fancy van? </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He didn't want to be grumpy about it, but the previous day he was incredibly tired and was probably just looking for anything to be mad about. Sleep was a powerful thing. Except, it wasn’t just his dad’s kindness that stemmed his sour mood. He knew that the idea of Connie’s parents not knowing was continuing to stew away at him. What if this was the last time he got to spend with Connie? </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Steven had trailed out of bed and made his way into the shower before Connie had even woken up. It felt nice to have gotten a head start in the morning, especially when he was so used to being the last of the couple to wake up. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>When Steven exited the bathroom and went back into the hotel room he noticed Connie lying in bed scrolling through her phone, eyebrows tightly knitted together. Steven had no idea what she was looking at but was certainly intrigued to know. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Morning." Steven somewhat cheerfully greeted as he walked over to the chair in the room that was holding his jeans for him throughout the night. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Morning." Connie responded in a much less excitable tone as she continued to stare down at the phone, this time playing with her lip ever so slightly with her spare hand. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Steven looked over once more as he tightened his belt buckle. He glanced down at his bare feet. Socks. He needed socks. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"So...found anything fun to do in Newcastle?" Steven questioned as he walked over and opened up his bag to find a pair of socks. He grabbed a pair before making his way over to the end of the bed and sitting down. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"There's a bunch of museums." </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Oh. Cool." Steven chewed his lip as he put his socks on, listening to Connie's somewhat vacant answer. He glanced over once again before falling backwards on the bed and staring at the ceiling. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Connie stared at her phone with intent, a little bit irritated that the document wouldn't write itself despite looking at it for a long period of time. It wasn't fair. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Connie let out an extended groan as she threw her phone on her lap out of frustration. Steven immediately turned onto his stomach, staring up at her in confusion. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"What's wrong?" Steven furrowed his eyebrows, showing his concern.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"It's just...how am I supposed to write a resume? I haven't...</span>
  <em>
    <span>done</span>
  </em>
  <span> anything." Connie looked down at the open word document on her phone that was now balancing on her lap and sighed. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"You've been to college! Can't you put that?" </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Of course, it's just - that's it. My time as a barista one summer and my on-campus job is the only work experience I've ever had. How am I supposed to get a job when they all want me to already have three years experience in the subject? Sure, I've been to college - but I didn't quite realise how little I knew about the </span>
  <em>
    <span>real</span>
  </em>
  <span> world." Connie threaded her fingers through her hair as she knocked the back of her head against the headboard of the bed. Steven felt bad seeing her struggle with her job hunt. He knew that for the past two weeks it was all she had been thinking about.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Steven reached over and placed his hand just above her knee on the top of the cover for comfort. He looked up at her, she was wearing an oversized Star Destroyers t-shirt. It was one that she had started wearing in bed when she stayed over and had slowly adopted it as her own. They were comfortable and they had been worn by Steven in the past. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"It's okay, you'll figure something out." </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"And if I don't?" </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Start a band." Steven joked as Connie glanced over with a small smile. Connie knew that he was joking, but it somehow didn't make her feel better. Steven was probably the worst person to have spoken to about careers. At much as she admired his work ethic, he had never really had a job that wasn't being a touring musician. That certainly wasn't how Connie had planned her future. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"It's so frustrating! I don't know what to do." Connie sighed as she looked back down at him. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"You should take the next two weeks to relax." </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"But-" </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"This is essentially a vacation. You've worked hard at college and you deserve it. You deserve to have a break!" Steven insisted, Connie was always so used to working herself a lot harder than expected. She was also incredibly quick to get stressed about things. Steven had picked up on a lot in the past year of them being together. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Yeah, you're right." Connie grabbed her phone and locked the screen before placing it on the bedside table. She sighed deeply as she tucked herself back into the bed. She had no idea when they were all leaving the hotel, but she didn't seem to care. She just wanted to curl up for just a bit longer. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Steven practically commando crawled his way up to the end of the bed, placing his head on the pillow beside her. Connie giggled as he flopped down on the other pillow. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I didn’t mean to be so grumpy yesterday. I was tired and, well - grumpy.” Steven snorted, realising that he hadn’t quite looked as happy as he should have for being in a different country. He was super excited to have been in England, it was just a shame that his mood hadn’t reflected it. The mood that had been brought on by several factors that he wasn’t willing to bring up to Connie when they were having a nice morning together. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s okay, you’re allowed to be grumpy.” Connie smiled, brushing back a single curl that had fallen onto his forehead. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I guess, I’m just happy to be here. It’s nice to be with you without anything getting in the way.” Steven smiled sweetly as he looked towards her, more than happy to have been in her presence. It had been a while since they had managed to be together like they were. He couldn’t stop thinking about how busy the past couple of months had been. It was crazy. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“If I can’t get a job, I’m really going to have to consider learning the triangle.” Connie joked, a little bit internally hurt by her comment. She had been so down on herself lately, despite achieving something incredibly impressive. At least, that was what Steven had thought. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I can’t believe how good you’re getting at guitar! You’ll replace me in the band soon enough.” Steven teased. It was true, Connie had been learning a lot of guitar over the past year. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Sure, back when they were touring the states Steven had attempted to teach her a little bit of guitar. It was only when they had gotten back to their everyday lives that Connie occasionally borrowed Max’s guitar whenever they weren’t studying and attempted to play. It was a lot harder than she had first expected but slowly started to get a hang of it. Steven was more than happy to give her a hand with learning different chords and strumming patterns, despite a lot of their lessons ending in perverse suggestions. He loved to love her. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I doubt that. You’re too good!” Connie laughed, Steven certainly had a musical skill set that nobody could match even if they tried. She brushed back Steven’s hair once more, her hands were always so soft and her touch was always so loving. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Do you want to get breakfast? It looks like they do good pancakes here.” Steven questioned, curious to know whether or not they should go and get some food. He was getting pretty hungry and it was probably about time that he messaged the band to see where they were and if they were up. They probably already had breakfast. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The best part about the UK tour was that a lot of the drives that they had to go on were below three hours in length, which meant that they got to do a lot of things throughout the day. There was a lot of time to laze around if they needed to and driving wouldn’t have taken up the entirety of their day. It was a win-win situation. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Connie hesitantly agreed to go to get pancakes at the restaurant in the hotel lobby. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to go and get pancakes, but that also meant that she would have to get out of bed. It seemed as if that was something that she certainly didn’t want to have to do. She could have happily have stayed inside of the bed all day if somewhere were to let her. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Connie knew that she couldn’t have gotten too caught up in looking for jobs and worrying about her future whilst away on what could have potentially have been considered a vacation. She needed to make sure that she kept her cool and spent the time she had in the country to reflect on the last four years of her life, opposed to feeling as if she was worthless enough to not have a future. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It just felt rough knowing that Max had somewhat of a future planned for herself and yet Connie, someone who believed she had her whole life planned right out in front of her suddenly had no ideas on what to do with herself.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>When Connie and Steven went down to get breakfast, they noticed the rest of the band had saved them a seat. They had already had their breakfast, which was borderline about to become their lunch. As much as they wanted to explore a lot of the city as soon as they drove over, it probably would have been pretty hard considering the time. They had mostly used the morning to laze around. Especially Steven and Connie. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I didn’t think you two would ever get up.” Jenny laughed upon seeing them both. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Don’t. He’s going to mention a sex thing.” Max nudged Jenny, trying to make sure that Steven didn’t mention anything overtly sexual. Steven and Connie had realised that no matter what they said or did - people would have always taken it the wrong way. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>That was just what Steven had to put up with due to his past. Everyone assumed the worst. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m not!” Steven grumbled, gently letting go of Connie’s hand as they sat down at the table. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well, I have reasons to be overly cautious.” Max shrugged, making half of her life about teasing her best friend’s relationship. She was now incredibly good friends with Steven which just made the teasing so much better. Totally worth it. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“The flight was pretty tiring.” Steven groaned, suddenly leaning his head on his hands as he rested on the table. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“That’s because you didn’t sleep.” Buck immediately called him out. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“That’s because planes are scary!” Steven argued back. How the hell did that stay in the sky? He had far too many questions that even Boogle didn’t seem to have the answers for. He had already tried to look up the answer a few times, but it didn’t give him what he was after. His questioning was rather specific. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“They’re not - but go off.” Jenny folded over her arms as she leant back in the chair. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“They are a little scary.” Sour Cream admitted, not entirely sure if he enjoyed flying the long distance either. It certainly wasn’t an enjoyable experience, to say the least. It was relatively hard to relax when they continuously thought about where they were. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The sky. Floating? Flying? It was terrifying.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Should we order breakfast?” Connie asked Steven, knowing that everyone else had already eaten. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah, might be a good idea.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh, this place is a little weird. You have to go and order at the bar and then they’ll bring it over.” Sour Cream let them in on the secret of the restaurant. It turned out that a lot of restaurants attached to that hotel chain had a similar system. They had the same when they ordered dinner the previous night. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Right. Makes sense. I’ll go and get it - pancakes, right?” Steven cocked an eyebrow at Connie as he patted his jeans, making sure that he had his wallet. Connie nodded happily as he pushed back his chair and made his way over to the bar. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Steven walked over to the bar where he believed he would have to order, except there was nobody there. He waited patiently for a member of staff. As he waited he noticed a pamphlet for future events in the area opposite the cash register, picking it up out of curiosity he began to flick through. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>England sure had some interesting events, there were plenty of tours from big-name bands that he had heard on the radio along with a few small British indie bands he had never heard of before. A few advertisements were showing off other events in the area like flower shows, the circus and pet shows. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>There was such a vast amount of music inside of the advertisement that Steven lazily turned the pages and secretly hoped that he would see his name in the booklet. He doubted that his dad had put that kind of money into promoting events in the local area, but he internally hoped to see his band’s name. It would have been nice. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Eventually, he got to the end of the booklet, turning it over and noticing the pink and teal advertisement on the back. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>His stomach dropped. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>His chest tightened. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>There were dates on the bottom of the page, showing when the event would have been happening. The dates were this week. The next two weeks. The same two weeks that Steven and the band were in the UK. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He swallowed in fear, picking up the booklet and storming back over to the table with intent. The band were all happily chatting to one another when suddenly a booklet was slammed into the middle of the table, sliding across the wood. Each of them jumped in shock, turning towards Steven who had an angry expression spread across his face. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Woah, Steven. What’s up?” Buck looked up with concern, noticing him bunching his fists together. His knuckles were turning a shade of white. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Connie glanced down at the booklet, a huge back page spread was filled by a pretty advertisement for what looked to have been a pop singer. Pink and teal floral patterns surrounded the words as an incredibly glamorous woman stood posed in the middle of the page. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Spelt out in the style of a neon pink sign was a singular woman. A name. The solo pop singer. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Pearl. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“She’s on tour! Here! The same time as us!” Steven’s voice cracked as he pointed down at the printed advert on the back of the booklet. Connie had never seen him look the way he did at that moment. Sheer anger spread across his face, veins popping by his temples, he gritted his teeth together. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Who?” Jenny questioned before even looking down at the booklet.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Pearl!” Steven practically shouted as he expressed himself the best he could. He thought he would have been able to hold things together, but he most certainly couldn’t at that moment. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Why the hell had his dad put him on tour in the same country around the same time as Pearl? His mother’s old bandmate. The only member of The Gems to continue to be passive-aggressive about Steven’s interests. The only member of The Gems to continue a career in music after his mother’s passing. The only member of The Gems who had made his father’s life miserable. The only member of The Gems who had repeatedly belittled his father’s ability to raise him. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The only member of The Gems that Steven had managed to avoid since he was sixteen. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The only member of The Gems that he never wished to see again…</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What’s the problem?” Max cocked an eyebrow down at the paper, not quite understanding the situation as well as everyone else. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“She’s here!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Like, in the hotel?” Sour Cream was confused. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No! In the UK - at the same time as us. What if she comes to see us play? What if she makes it her goal to make our lives difficult?” Steven stressed, his words coming across rather aggressively. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Max spun the booklet towards her, looking down at the tour poster. Everyone had heard of Pearl. Sure, she was most popular with the older generations, but that didn’t mean that she wasn’t on the radio every single day. Her songs were the right amount of angst and pop-like tunes. The perfect blend for radio, as well as infectious hits that were played at every party. Just like The Gems’ songs. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Dude, she’s playing the O2 Arena three nights in London. I’m sure she doesn’t have time for an emo band.” Max snorted before pushing the booklet back into the middle of the table. Pearl was the real deal. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“There’s still a chance!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We’re doing our thing and she’s doing hers. Max is right - she won’t have any time to go out of her way to try and find you. She probably has no idea.” Jenny shrugged, knowing just how much any mention of his mother’s band riled him up. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What if-”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Steven, it’s fine. She’s not going to come and </span>
  <em>
    <span>find</span>
  </em>
  <span> you.” Buck assured, Steven’s illogical reasoning seemed a little too far of a stretch. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>A million things began to run through Steven’s mind. The last thing he wanted to do was to have a conversation with Pearl. He certainly didn’t want her at any of his shows and he was terrified that could have been the case at some point. He didn’t want that to happen - not one bit. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Steven looked down at the floor for a moment. Connie had never seen him look so angry and confused all at once. Steven had told her a bit about The Gems and what their involvement in his life had done for him, most of which were never positive things - especially when it came to talking about Pearl. His relationship with Pearl had never been good. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I need to call my dad.” Steven suddenly instructed, spinning on his heel and pulling out his phone, leaving everyone behind as he walked out of the restaurant and began to pace in one spot outside of the restaurant. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Everyone was a little unsure of what to do. Especially Connie. This certainly threw a spanner in the works when it came to how smoothly the tour would have gone. Steven didn’t look particularly happy about the discovery and everyone suddenly wished that he had never found out. He would have found out eventually. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Is he going to be...okay?” Max questioned, incredibly concerned for her friend. Everyone on the table exchanged glances of concern. Connie was shocked by the situation, a little blown back. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“He’ll be fine...he just needs time to vent. Give him a minute.” Jenny sighed, knowing Steven a little too well. The band had been with Steven through a lot of the family drama that he had experienced. They had heard all about his struggles with The Gems and beyond. They knew that the best thing for him to do was to have his own space for a while as he called his dad, there was no point in everyone running out and overwhelming him. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Steven continued to pace outside of the restaurant with his phone pressed to his ear. He had to call his dad. He tried ringing once - then again. It was the second time that Greg Universe had finally decided to answer his phone. It wasn’t until his dad had picked up that he remembered the fact that there were time zones that separated them both. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Steven? It’s nearly six in the morning, is everything okay?” Greg practically groaned, clearly awoken from a slumber. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No! I’m not okay, Dad! I’m not okay.” Steven raised his voice as he admitted his frustrations, making sure to repeat himself as he spoke. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Woah, slow down, Kiddo? What’s the matter?” Greg suddenly spoke in a much perkier manner. Steven could hear a small amount of shuffling, it was clear he had woken him up at the early hours of the morning. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You never told me she was playing in the UK the same time as us!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What? Who?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Pearl! She’s touring here right now!” Steven bit down aggressively on his bottom lip. He couldn’t get his head around the concept. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh. Is that...has she spoken to you?” Greg wasn’t quite sure what to say. It wasn’t as if he could have done anything about the scenario. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What? No! She hasn’t spoken to me, she hasn’t spoken to me in years!” Steven ran his fingers through his hair as he looked up at the sky. It looked as if it was going to rain. He had a sudden dislike for British weather. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Greg coughed slightly before trying his hardest not to grumble his next response. There was nothing that Greg could have possibly done in the situation other than to listen to his son rant. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“So, what’s the problem?” Greg sighed, a little more dismissive of Steven’s concerns than he would have liked to have been. He too had plenty of problems with people from his past such as Pearl, but that didn’t mean he would have ever gone out of his way to make it a fact. He didn’t need to interact with Pearl anymore and that was just fine. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Steven pondered on the question, what was the problem? The problem was that he was worried that she would have come and spoken to him. Spoken down on his profession and how he wasn’t as popular as him. Say something about his father - it was always about his father. They shared a lot of history, but that didn’t mean Pearl had any right to continuously make slanderous comments against his dad. She made Steven mad. He didn’t get mad about a lot of people, but Pearl needed to stay out of his business. She needed to stay out of his life forever. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I just...I don’t want to run into her.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“The UK is a pretty big place…” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“If she knows that we’re playing shows, she might come and see me. I don’t want that if we’re in the same area.” Steven continued to pace on the same five concrete tiles. Back and forth. He would have liked to have smoked away his anxiety at that moment, as much as he had quit his bad habit, he was starting to think about how much he wanted that quick relief. It wasn’t fair. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Steven, it’s okay. Nothing is going to happen and if she does come to see you, call me immediately and I’ll sort it out. She has no right to be anywhere near you. She hasn’t visited us in years, I don’t even think she sees Amethyst and Garnet very much anymore. You’ve got nothing to worry about.” Greg attempted to calm Steven down, hearing his stressed tone through the speaker on his phone was worrying considering he was so far away. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Things are going well, Dad. I just really don’t want this to mess them up.” Steven sighed, looking back at the restaurant and through the window. He noticed everyone inside on his table turn away when he looked up - they were watching him. Even Connie. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Steven sighed as he turned away, throwing his hand into his jean’s pocket and strolling back down to the other side of the outside of the restaurant. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I know...you won’t! You’ve got this, nothing is going to stop you from being you. Not even Pearl.” Greg tried his hardest to be positive about the whole thing. He wanted to make sure Steven felt good about it all, but it was incredibly hard to do so when his hopeful son turned somewhat pessimistic. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Steven couldn’t help but feel like things were about to crash through, just as everything had started to calm down. Everything from his relationship with Connie to his happiness. Things had been going well in therapy and his day to day life was pretty standard but good. He loved playing music more than anything and he had been so inspired to continue recently. It felt so good. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He knew that things would have only gotten better, but he didn’t want things to block his path. His mind ran with all kinds of thoughts where he could only see a future that was completely blown apart by someone like Pearl. What could she have done that would have caused something like that? Steven wasn’t even sure, but he was still nervous about it. He still hated the idea. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have woken you up. This is silly.” Steven sighed even louder than before as he kicked a small stone from underneath his foot. He watched it bounce along the ground before making its way into a nearby bush. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s okay, Stchuball. You know you can call me whenever.” Steven couldn’t quite tell, but he imagined Greg was smiling. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Thanks, Dad. I’ll have to message you about the shows.” He changed the subject of the conversation. Steven knew that his mood was irrational. He didn’t like to jump to conclusions, but it seemed as if his mind certainly enjoyed making him suffer in worrying thoughts. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Alright, I’ll let you get back to it.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Speak to you soon.” Steven spoke quietly as Greg responded with a quick goodbye. Steven hung up the phone and placed it back into his pocket. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He stood outside of the hotel’s restaurant as he held his hands inside of the front of his pockets and rocked on his heels. He needed to calm himself down before he went back into the restaurant and faced the whole band. Steven had been taught a lot in therapy, but that didn’t mean that he didn’t sometimes get thrown over the edge by something minuscule. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>What was he supposed to do to prevent Pearl from being in his life? He didn’t have to do anything because everyone was right in saying that she would have been far too busy to have gone to see a shitty emo band live in a venue that was only a small percentage of what she would perform in front of every single day. It was also a huge security risk - everyone would have recognised her. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He didn’t think it was likely. He shouldn’t have bothered with worrying. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Steven?” A voice spoke softly behind him, causing him to turn. Just as he had expected, it was Connie. Beautiful Connie. He smiled over at her. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hey.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hey, are you okay?” Connie questioned with concern as she stepped towards Steven and placed her hand on his arm. She felt a slight disconnect, but not enough for him to have pulled away. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m okay. I just...I’m sorry. I saw it and I got upset.” Steven shrugged, realising that he had been fighting back the tears from his emotional reaction the whole time. The last thing he wanted to do was to cry, but sometimes he just couldn’t help it. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Woah, it’s okay! Steven…” Connie didn’t even notice he had started to cry before wrapping her arms around him and pulling him into a tight hug. There had been multiple times throughout their relationship where they had seen one another at some of their lowest points, it always hurt the other to see them in so much emotional pain. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Steven didn’t hesitate to hold her incredibly tightly, burying his head into her neck and hair so he could be free to cry if he needed to. He hated feeling helpless. Why did he feel this way? Was Pearl a trigger of his previous trauma that he had experienced with his mother? Was she just another one of the many things that caused him to seize up with horrible feelings as they flooded throughout him?</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It was painful to feel. Especially when it came to anything relating to his mother. Pearl didn’t make that easy, he knew that she was still hurting too. Steven couldn’t comprehend his feelings. He couldn’t understand them nor could he even come up with a logical explanation for his feelings.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Steven sobbed heavily into the crook of Connie’s neck, knowing that she was his place of comfort and understanding. She would never have judged or belittled him for any of the feelings he was experiencing. She loved him and everything that came with loving him. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Connie gently stroked the back of his head as they hugged outside of the restaurant, a cool breeze blowing onto them both. She hadn’t heard him cry like this before, what had happened? It broke her heart to hear his small winces. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Steven...it’s going to be okay.” Connie whispered, although she understood a small amount of his family history, she was unsure as to what the pop singer Pearl had to do with a lot of it. Then again, Steven was unsure too. Complicated emotions that overruled his logic. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Steven wanted to have been able to speak about how he felt and yet at that moment the only thing he could do was cry further. Connie wasn’t quite sure what to do with him, a little bit worried about his wellbeing. All she wanted was for him to be happy. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Connie allowed him to cry for a while before he finally decided to lift his head away from her. It took a while, but he managed to do it with all of the strength that he had. Connie watched him sniff as she looked at his red face that was covered in his tears. He couldn’t even muster up the courage to look into her eyes, too distracted by his sadness. Connie wiped underneath his eye with her thumb to rid him of a stray tear. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m sorry.” Steven apologised as he took a deep breath, a little embarrassed that he had erupted in such emotion and for what? He believed it was out of nowhere. He suddenly hated himself for it. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s fine, it’s not your fault.” Connie half-smiled as she held onto his shoulders, gently massaging her thumbs into his collarbones. She didn’t want him to be embarrassed about his slight outburst. It wasn’t something that he could have controlled. “Did you speak to your dad?” Connie questioned. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah, he didn’t have much to say. I didn’t really...give him much to respond to. It’s stupid...” Steven sighed, realising how ridiculous he must have sounded. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s not stupid, you’re allowed to feel things, Silly.” This wasn’t the first time that she had been with Steven when he was torn up about his past. She hadn’t quite realised what she was getting into when they had first met, but he certainly had an interesting history that she had learnt about throughout their relationship. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Steven couldn’t quite grasp the concept of not feeling silly for his actions. There was nothing logical that he could feel about the situation. It didn’t make any sense. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>That was the problem with trauma and triggers and the things that surrounded them. They were things that he had spoken to his therapist about in the past and yet no matter what he still couldn’t quite seem to understand where it fits. Where did Steven fit in a world where there were certain people and things that made him feel ways in which haunted him? There was no logical explanation to his feelings and he wished there was. It would have made things a lot easier to explain. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s fine. Everything’s fine.” Steven repeated himself. Of course, everything was going to be fine. There was no reason as to why it wouldn’t have been. Steven didn’t have to see any of his mother’s old bandmates. That was something he had decided on when he was younger, well, mostly what his father had decided for him. He agreed. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He still spoke to both Garnet and Amethyst on the odd occasion, they were always interested to know what he was doing with himself. They were interested in him as a person. He hadn't seen either of them in a long time. Steven had a lot of respect from them both, Pearl was completely different. Unlike the other two Gems, Pearl had decided to continue a career in music. Undeniably she had a talent for it, it would have been a shame to waste it. Steven didn’t blame Pearl or any of the other Gems for anything that happened when he was younger, but he sure did associate it with them. It was hard to be around them when one of the key things that affected him as a person involved them all. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Connie didn’t quite believe Steven when he said that he was okay, but she wasn’t the sort of person that was to press if she knew it may have upset him. It was best to leave it and if and when the time came when things were different he may have wanted to speak about it. That was okay. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Alright, well, we never got them pancakes.” Connie changed the subject with a soft tone, wanting to make sure that he was comfortable with everything that had been going on. She knew that he would have been somewhat embarrassed about going back inside of the restaurant with his friends. He shouldn’t have been - they were all his friends and they cared deeply about him. They wouldn’t want him to be upset. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah, I’m pretty hungry.” Steven shrugged as he wiped his eyes. He didn’t want Connie to worry about him. How was he supposed to ask her for help when he wasn’t even quite sure what was going on in his mind?</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>When Steven and Connie went back to see the band, nobody questioned him and everyone went about their own business. Steven had even noticed that they had made an effort to get rid of the booklet that had the advertisement on the back of it. How could he have gotten so upset over a picture?</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>After Steven and Connie had eaten their pancakes and they all sat around the table trying to talk about anything and everything that wasn’t Steven’s outburst, they packed their bags and piled into the van, making their way across the country over to Newcastle. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The drives between each city or town in the UK was so short in comparison to what they were used to when driving through the states of America that they were incredibly thrown off by timing. Things seemed to go a lot quicker when they were in the UK and they were enjoying the added time of being able to laze around or take their time if they wanted to go and visit any kind of historical landmarks. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Buck had stated how much he wanted to see the Angel of the North. It wasn’t very much of a detour and they managed to go and visit the historical landmark with ease. Steven sat inside the back of the van and tried his hardest not to stew too much on his thoughts. He had been taught by his therapist to speak about how he was feeling rather than bottle it all up - something that he was surprisingly good at doing. Bottling it up that was. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Steven felt a little bit out of control not driving the van as he usually did, but it was certainly nice to have Jenny do all of the driving. It did mean that he got to spend all of his time in the backseat with his girlfriend, Connie. Connie always made sure that he was feeling better, from soft touches to full-blown hugs. He loved them all. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The band stood in front of the statue and took photographs with one another like any other tourist in the area. Steven and Connie even got a picture together standing in front of the huge piece of art. It was sad to know that on their first tour they barely got any pictures together and yet throughout the year the back of Connie’s dorm room door slowly started to fill up with more and more images of her and Steven. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“That’s a nice one.” Connie smiled after Jenny passed back her phone, she looked at the picture of them both standing together under the landmark. Steven had placed his arm around her and they were both smiling. It was slightly windy and there was an overcast meaning that Connie had opted for a Star Destroyers hoodie and Steven was in his usual black denim jacket. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah, it is.” Steven hugged her from behind, resting his head on her shoulder as he looked over at the image. Connie noticed that he got a lot more affectionate and cuddly whenever he was in a sad mood. She didn’t mind and often welcomed his love. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“InstaSnap worthy?” Connie turned her head slightly with a smile, her cheek brushed against his stubble as she allowed him to cuddle up to her as much as possible. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Always!” Steven chuckled, Connie had once been somewhat jealous of the number of images of him on the social media website. Images of him that didn’t include her, but various amounts of him with other women who were considered fans of his band. For someone who never used her InstaSnap before Steven came into her life, she sure did enjoy filling it with images of them together. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Huge ass angels aside, we have a show to get to!” Max pointed up at the huge sculpture before pointing over towards the motorway they had taken to get there. Max was more than happy for them to have gotten to the venue on time, it meant that as they did their quick soundcheck she could set up all of the merchandise. She loved her job so much. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah, yeah - we’re coming!” Jenny groaned as they walked somewhat slowly back down the hill to the van. Steven and Connie were hand in hand. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Upon arriving at the venue the band got set up as they usually did, Connie at the back with Max setting things up. Stephen Space-Wolf was positioned happily at the end of the table, awaiting the crowds of people who were going to come in and purchase all kinds of merchandise from them. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Max noticed the concern in Connie’s expression as she looked up at the stage ahead at Steven, watching him mess around with his pedalboard. It seemed as if all day he had been brewing on something within himself. It looked as if he was fine on the outside, but something wasn’t quite right. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“So, I hate to pry - but what the hell happened with Steen?” Max spoke as quietly as she could within the venue to a point where Connie could still hear her over the instruments being tested. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Today?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah, the dude was totally amped up. Looked like he was going to flip our table or something.” Max rearranged the merch on the table as she spoke. “I just want to know he’s okay.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“He doesn’t talk about it much. It’s hard.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Mom stuff?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I think so.” Connie sighed, feeling nothing but pain for her boyfriend’s scenario. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Man, that’s a bummer. I prefer Steven when he’s all dorky and...do you remember that time he got locked in our bathroom?” Max suddenly snorted, reminiscing on one of the many times that Steven had visited Connie in their dorm. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“How could I forget? He was in there for hours…” Connie tried her hardest not to laugh, thinking about the memory. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I mean, he really wasn’t very happy back then - but it was a different kind of unhappy.” Max snorted, thinking back to how they had managed to play a card game through the gap in the bottom of the door together as they waited for maintenance to help out. They all had such a good friendship with one another, they could be the perfect trio night after night hanging out in their dorm. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Connie folded over her arms and continued to watch the man on the stage stick his tongue out slightly as he twisted a few of the dials on the pedal before gently strumming on his guitar. He was so caught up in his profession that it was hard to see his mind whirling on the events of the day. She sighed heavily before adjusting her glasses. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s hard...when there’s something from the past that you can’t help. I just wish there was something I could do, y’know? I just want him to be happy.” Connie looked back over at Max who suddenly stopped messing around with the merchandise. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s okay, sometimes these things happen to people in life. There’s nothing you can do about it. The best thing to do is just to support them through it. It’s not your fault if there’s a lot that’s happened to him before you guys got together - that’s got nothing to do with you. You just need to be there to support him where you can. It is all you can do.” Max shrugged, knowing for well that Connie would have tried to fix the situation when there was nothing that she could do to fix it. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Unfortunately, Steven’s problems stemmed from something deep in his past that nobody could have ever fixed. Not even Connie had the ability to fix the things that happened. They were events that Steven would have to deal with for the rest of his life. A past that haunted him. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I guess, I just can’t help but to feel guilty about it.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Why do you feel guilty? There’s nothing you can do.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s hard seeing him this way. He was so upset…” Connie furrowed her eyebrows as she recalled his deep cries into the crook of her neck. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s difficult when skeletons come out of the closet or whatever that phrase is. I still can’t believe he has beef with Pearl. Like...the pop star, Pearl. That’s insane and blows my mind. We know this dude…” Max scoffed, completely amazed by the fame that Steven Universe held. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The whole aspect of fame was still weird to Connie and she still hadn’t quite gotten used to it. After hearing musicians such as Pearl on the radio only to hear about how much they affected Steven as a person was incredibly difficult. She couldn’t even begin to imagine how something like that could have affected Steven. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I know, it’s weird.” Connie half smiled as Steven looked up and noticed her looking over with concern in her eyes. He noticed her from the opposite side of the room and immediately stood up to take his place in front of the microphone. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hey, Connie...” Steven spoke softly through the microphone before waving. Connie snorted at him before waving back. He was in a much better mood than he was previously in the day, but that didn’t mean he hadn’t spent the entirety of the day attempting to snuggle his way up to her to comfort himself. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It was in times when he needed distraction that Connie was the best person for him. He couldn’t help but love her ability to keep his mind occupied. He had nearly spent a whole year thinking about her more than anything else - which was a miracle considering before he met her most of his thoughts were incredibly hounding and intrusive. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hi, Steven!” Connie shouted from the opposite end of the venue, cupping her hands around her mouth. She noticed his smile under the stage light. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He shuffled around on his Vans slightly before turning back towards the band and noticing them all somewhat distracted by their instruments. Steven plucked on the guitar, playing a few melodic notes. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What’s he doing?” Max asked as she stood beside Connie looking at the dork up on the stage. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Trying to impress me.” Connie snorted, knowing exactly what he was doing. He liked to show off, especially when it came to music. Connie was always beyond impressed with his talent. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Steven played a sweet little tune, completely going overboard what a soundcheck should have included. He ran his fingers up and down the fretboard. This was exactly what he needed, musical therapy. A way in which he could focus all of his energy on his two favourite things in the world - music and his beautiful guitar. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What do you want to hear?” Steven spoke through the microphone as he gently continued to pluck away at the guitar, a soft tune that sent shivers down Connie’s spine. The tune gave her goose pimples that ran down her arms. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“All-Star by Smashmouth!” Max shouted back, forcing Connie to laugh and gently nudge her friend. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah, I can do that.” Steven stuck his tongue out once more to concentrate before Buck stepped over towards him and gently placed his hand on the guitar. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Connie laughed as Buck shook his head dramatically and pressed his hand against Steven’s guitar. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We don’t play that here.” He spoke in a deep tone, staring directly at Steven through his sunglasses. Steven swallowed a little too hard as he nervously pressed his lips into a thin line. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Buck went and took his position back on the side of the stage, continuing to adjust his guitar and make sure that everything was in order for the show later. Steven shrugged over at Max, he wasn’t able to show off how he wanted to, but that was okay. He still managed to get a smile out of both Max and Connie and that was all that mattered. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m sorry, guys. Are you excited for the show?” Steven questioned through the microphone as he pointed down at them both. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Max and Connie both nodded in unison. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Max, you’re really cool. Connie, I love you.” Steven grinned as he spoke, continuing to point at each of them. Both Max and Connie smiled at his words. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Steven took a step backwards and continued to play what seemed to be a guitar solo, messing around with the pedalboard with his foot, turning on different tones to see how they would sound through the speaker. Connie couldn’t help but feel as if her heart was full of his words, even when he was at his lowest points he still tried his absolute hardest to make sure that she was happy. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Damn, your boyfriend kind of rocks.” Max laughed, more than happy that she had been the one to get Steven and Connie to meet in the first place. She was incredibly happy for her best friend and the love that she held for the frontman of her favourite emo band. It also meant that Max got to be friends with him and hang out, that wasn’t something that she ever expected. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The frontman of her favourite emo band had been dating her best friend for nearly a year. He had even been locked inside of her bathroom. That was insane to her. If seventeen-year-old Max knew that when she was listening to Star Destroyers in her bedroom all those years ago then she certainly wouldn’t have been able to believe it. There was no way! </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Kind of? He does rock!” Connie complimented as he attempted to flirt once more by winking at her poorly as he finished his small guitar solo. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It wasn’t long before the band were playing their second night’s show in the UK. It was certainly strange to hear a crowd singing back the songs in a British accent, it made Sour Cream laugh the most. He enjoyed it so much he made sure to throw his drumsticks into the crowd as a reward for the amount of noise that they had made for the band. It was a great encouragement for them both. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>People loved the new album. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Although, as Steven Universe stood up on the stage he couldn’t help but feel as if there was too much running through his mind that wasn’t related to the music. Connie had opted to stand inside of the crowd that night which meant that as he scanned his eyes over everyone he made sure that she was still there. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Connie had gotten used to moshing, but it didn’t mean that she did it at every single show that they played. It was only really when Max felt the urge to drag her in so that she could get rowdy enough that she feared she would have lost her glasses if she was pushed any harder. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Despite this, Steven wasn’t completely looking for Connie. Instead, he was terrified that someone from his past would have shown up at the show he was playing. He didn’t want that. He was scared something like that would happen, so the only thing he could do was think about it as he played. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Every single face. Every single person in the room. He made sure that he didn’t recognise them past someone that he may have seen like his photos on social media and accidentally clicked on their profile. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He didn’t want to see anyone he recognised other than Connie and Max. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He was scared.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Why? </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He wasn’t sure.</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Glasgow</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Steven's regretting his actions as Connie debates her future career.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Steven didn’t sleep much that night. Staring up at the ceiling and thinking about the things in his past that continued to make him question his life. Why were there so many things that had occurred to him that made things difficult? He didn’t want that. He never asked for that. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>It hurt him to know that Connie was sleeping beside him and couldn’t quite comprehend the rushing thoughts that ran through his mind. He wished that he could have shared them with her, but it was hard to do so when he struggled to explain them himself. He felt guilty, knowing that if he could he would have shared every thought with the person he loved. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Steven never wanted his mental health to get in the way of his relationship, especially not with Connie. It was something that pretty much loomed over him throughout his past attempts to find love - but Connie was different. Connie had always been different. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He only wished that things would continue to be different with Connie. They had nearly been together for a whole year, that was the longest relationship that either of them had ever been in. It would have been wrong to assume that they weren’t happy where they were - they were incredibly happy. More so than they had ever been. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Steven glanced over at Connie who was fast asleep and tucked up in the bed beside him. She was so beautiful and he truly was the luckiest man alive to have been able to be her boyfriend. That was a title he would have never lived down. She was so wonderful. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Steven knew it was pretty early in the morning for them both, but he certainly wasn’t going to have been able to sleep. There was no way that his mind would have stopped racing. Sure, he got a little bit of sleep, but it certainly wasn’t enough to have considered him well-rested. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Steven got up as quietly as he could, throwing a hoodie over his head and attempting not to wake Connie up with the sound of his belt buckle as he brought his jeans up to his waist. He didn’t have a plan for where he was going, but he was hoping that some kind of walk would clear his head. Well, clear it enough so perhaps he may have been able to get some kind of sleep. If all else failed, he would have slept in the back of the van as they travelled up to Scotland that day. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He was incredibly quiet as he made his way out of the hotel room, slowly shutting the door behind him. Thankfully, he had remembered to take his keycard. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The corridors of the hotel were empty and he tucked his hands in his pockets and made his way through the lobby and to the outside of the hotel. As soon as he stepped outside he was once again struck by a dark blue sky, the sun attempting to rise through grey clouds. He sighed heavily - the weather in England was depressing, to say the least. Wasn’t it supposed to be June?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He thought about perhaps going for a walk, it was early morning and it would have been nice to clear his head. He didn't quite get the same alone time as he used to after shows anymore, spending most of it with Connie. It wasn't as if that was something that he minded, but it certainly was a loss of his time to be by himself. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Steven, I didn't think I'd see you out here." A monotone voice suddenly sounded, causing Steven to jump slightly. He glanced over only to notice Buck sat leaning on what looked to be a brick flower bed that surrounded the outside of the hotel. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He was also dressed in a hoodie, surprisingly not wearing his sunglasses. He had a cigarette in hand, something that he was still in the process of quitting. It wasn't as if he smoked thirty packets a day, but he certainly did get satisfaction from the odd cigarette now and then. This was one of those times. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Woah. Hi, Buck." Steven chuckled slightly as he held onto his chest, covering the Star Destroyers logo of his hoodie with his hand. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"What are you up to?" </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Just...thought I'd go for a walk. Couldn't sleep." Steven admitted, scratching the back of his neck. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Any chance of me being able to join you? Life's pretty messy these days, we need time to vent our frustrations." Buck shrugged his shoulders before taking a drag of the cigarette. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small packet of tobacco. "Do you want one?" </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I um... I'll pass on the smoke, but you can join me on a walk if you like?" Steven pushed his hands back down into the front of his hoodie pocket. He had always enjoyed Buck's company, despite his deadpan expressions and philosophical reasonings. Considering all of it, Buck was easy to speak to. He was someone Steven could trust. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"That would be great." Buck commented as he pushed himself off the side of the brick wall and made his way over to Steven. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Steven began to walk, unsure of where his feet would carry him. He hoped that Buck had some kind of idea of the area otherwise he wouldn't quite know how to get back. It was fine, he had his phone if things got really bad and he wasn't sure where they were. Newcastle was a big place. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"So, how's England?" Steven questioned, attempting to make small talk with his friend of many years. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Cloudy and cold." Buck stated as he walked beside Steven. He looked up at the sky, sunrises were supposed to be beautiful and yet the dark looming sky said otherwise. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Yeah…I was hoping for better weather." Steven sighed, a little unsure on what kind of conversation topics he could have brought up with Buck. Other than making music together, he forgot the last time it was just him and Buck alone. It was nice to get the opportunity to hang out, even if it was around six in the morning. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"So, you want to talk about what happened yesterday?" Buck suddenly asked before kneeling and stubbing out his cigarette. He held the end between his fingers and carried it with them, on the constant lookout for a trash can. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I'm sorry for...my reaction." Steven glanced away, not wanting to put too much emotion into his speech. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Everyone has a right to emotion. Things that upset people deeply can elicit a response that triggers memories or feelings. Memories that perhaps are yet to be processed correctly. Don't feel bad about anything, man. You're just trying to live your life and we all respect that. You didn't deserve the hand you were given - that's stale." Buck stared down at the floor as he spoke, Steven taking in every piece of his advice. It was nice to hear Buck speak about a pressing issue, he was always so smart when it came to these things. He had a good grip on his emotions. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Do you think she's going to come to a show?" Steven asked the question that had been on his mind the entire time. He was terrified of it being true. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"For a pop singer of her stature, I'd be impressed if she managed to get inside of one of our shows without being harassed by people. Probability is unlikely." Buck spoke softly, his words somewhat giving Steven the reassurance that he needed to hear. That was important to him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Yeah, I guess you're right." Steven sighed. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Don't let it get you down, man. We're here to have loads of fun and we're killing it with music at the moment. Things are cool. Don't be pressured by your feelings to feel bad, you deserve to be happy." </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Buck's words spoke the truth. The past year had admittedly been what seemed to have passed as the best year of Steven's life. He had everything he could want, from a somewhat successful emo band to a beautiful girlfriend. He had nothing to be remotely sad about and yet…</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I know, I should be happy. I want to be happy all the time."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"But you're not?" </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Not as much as I want to be." </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Don't feel pressured into feeling happy all the time. There's a sense of catharsis that comes with being sad sometimes. Y'know...like the stuff we write about." Buck attempted to put it into terms that perhaps Steven would have understood slightly better. They did make a lot of songs that allowed them to release that sadness productively. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Steven didn't know how to control his own emotions. It wasn't that he didn't want to harness the power of doing so, but it was incredibly difficult when the only thing on his mind was self-deprecating thoughts. Connie knew all about them and she had spent a long time with him trying to figure them out. He was often open about these things and she very much appreciated his honesty. Sometimes things just weren't as bright as they first seemed and that was okay. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re right…” Steven sighed, a little defeated by his mind. Buck was right, but there was no use in being sad all the time. He had been incredibly excited to be in the UK and he didn’t quite expect anything to have changed that. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He needed to make an effort, if not for himself then for everyone else. Nobody wanted to be around a sad sack. He didn’t want to be that person. Whatever was to happen would happen and there was nothing that he could have done about it. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re good though - right?” Buck cocked an eyebrow as he stopped in his tracks in front of a trash can, placing the cigarette butt inside. Steven stopped in front of him, feeling a little intimidated by his pause. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Y-yeah, it’s fine. I’ll be fine.” Steven half-smiled, appreciating Buck’s advice and concern. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>There was something inside of Steven that continued to tell him that things were different this time around. He couldn't shake the idea that Pearl was somewhere in the country awaiting a conversation that he wasn't ready to have. He had actively avoided them for years, trying to detach himself from the emotions that being around them held. A part of him wished that things were different, it wasn't as if it was their fault that his mother passed away, but their presence didn't exactly make that realisation easy. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Steven continued on his walk a little longer, taking in what could have been considered fresh air. He wasn't sure how else to spend his morning when he couldn't sleep. He wanted to go back to Connie with a smile on his face rather than the small pout that his lips currently possessed. He wanted to be happy, for Connie, for everyone and himself. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Buck was right in saying that he had a right to those emotions, but it didn't mean that he had to feel bad all of the time. Steven threw his hands into his hoodie pocket and eventually made his way back to the hotel, Buck following close by as he contemplated whether or not to smoke another cigarette. He decided against it. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Steven trailed back to his room, happy knowing that as soon as he opened the door he would have been greeted by a sleeping Connie. He would be able to crawl into bed and pretend that he hadn't spent the past hour or so walking around aimlessly brewing on his thoughts. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Steven took a deep breath as he leant against the hotel door, gently placing his keycard on the lock and allowing the small light to go green as the door clicked. He gently pushed his shoulder against the door, sneaking back into the room. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He went to pull the hoodie back I've his head as he heard a sudden voice. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Steven?" A voice groaned, barely audible. Steven must have woken her up. He internally punched himself for the mistake. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Hey." Steven whispered as he made his way around the bed. He decided against pulling the hoodie over his head and went to lay down beside her. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Connie immediately reached out to him. Steven smiled as he held onto her wrist as her palm gently touched his unshaven stubble. He turned his head and gently kissed her hand. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"What were you doing?" Connie questioned, a little unable to open her eyes. The tour certainly messed with her sleeping schedule. She wasn't used to waking up this early in the morning when she didn't have college. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I took a walk. I couldn't sleep." Steven sighed, shuffling even closer to Connie as he spoke. She welcomed his presence. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Connie noticed the faint smell of cigarettes on his hoodie and wondered if he had been smoking. After everything that had happened over the last day or so she wouldn't have been surprised if he had resumed such a bad habit. If he needed it to cope then she wasn't quite sure what the problem was.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Oh. Are you going to try and sleep some more or...was that it?" Connie questioned, feeling a little more cuddly than she wanted to, but ultimately thankful that Steven had appeared. She would have happily resembled cutlery with him until they finally both woke up. It wasn’t as if they needed to be anywhere until the late afternoon, the drive up to Scotland wouldn’t have been too bad. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The room was dark, the only lighting was a crack in the curtains on the other side of the room. It was enough to make out the silhouette of her face. Steven didn’t mind how much of her that he could see, he still knew that she was incredibly beautiful and he would have continued to remind her of the fact day in and day out. He needed to make sure that she knew about it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I can try to go to sleep.” Steven half-smiled, he was unsure if he was able to go to sleep now that he had vented a lot of his issues, it would have been good to at least try to get some more sleep. If it came to it he would have to try and sleep in the back of the van on the way to their next show. That was just one of the joys that came with not having to drive on this tour. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay.” Connie whispered sleepily. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He got even closer to Connie, this time completely invading her personal space. As if on cue, Connie rolled over and took his hand with her, wrapping it around her waist and allowing him to lay comfortably behind her. He snuggled up to her as close as he could get, he loved having her in his arms. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Steven closed his eyes as he practically took in a breath of the scent of her hair. He could tell that she had been using pineapple shampoo - it smelt amazing. He shut his eyes and allowed himself to drift off to sleep, no longer plagued completely by the thoughts of his demise, but rather the thoughts of how soft Connie’s skin was against his and how much he loved her. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>When Connie woke up a few hours later she was still tangled up in Steven, he had fallen into a much deeper sleep than he had expected. He needed the sleep though and that was the most important part. Connie tried to be as quiet and as gentle as possible as she climbed out of bed and made her way to the shower before starting her day. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She worried about Steven’s thoughts and how she couldn’t have been there throughout the night to try and help him with them. Sometimes there were just things that she couldn’t help with when it came to the thoughts in his mind. Despite this, she still wanted to be there to support him in any way that was possible. Whether that was physically or emotionally. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>There wasn’t much of a conversation to have been had between Steven and Connie when it came to them both waking up properly with one another. They had become the couple that did everything together so often that mundane things like waking up next to one another didn’t quite have the same spark as it did a year ago - except it did. It was just the same as waking up next to one another that one night after their time together in L.A. Steven was lucky to have been able to wake up beside her and every single day when he did he believed he was the luckiest man in all of existence. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Just as Steven had been the previous day, he had been incredibly cuddly when it came to Connie. It wasn’t because he was in a particularly bad place that day, but it came more from the fact that he loved his girlfriend and wasn’t afraid to show it. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The journey from Newcastle to Glasgow was around three hours and the band were quick to pile into the van in the morning so that they could discover what Scotland had to offer. It was the only time during the tour that they would have been visiting Scotland. A first for them all.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Steven sat in the back of the van with Connie beside him. Connie had rested her head on his shoulder as they held hands throughout the drive. Steven held his phone by his lap as they shared a pair of earphones, watching some trashy movie on Netflix that most certainly would have made Steven cry at the very end. He didn’t know that yet though. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Max and Buck sat in the middle of the van playing all sorts of silly games on their phones with one another. Max had gotten incredibly close to everyone throughout their time as friends since the last tour, they had even gone as far to have met up with Max a couple of times without Steven. This was good for Max considering they were her favourite band and now qualified themselves as some of her best friends. It was fantastic. Max couldn’t have been happier with the conclusion. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>With Jenny driving, Sour Cream was in the front with a laptop and a pair of headphones making up some kind of new electronic beat that he could have sold online to some up and coming rap artist for money. Sour Cream was incredibly good with music production and doing the job of supplying half of the internet with rap beats and electronic instruments was just half of his work. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Other than stopping at a famous fast-food chain for lunch and what may have also been considered dinner - it was down to whether or not they had the time. They eventually made their way into Scotland, the landscape throughout the drive was beautiful. As much as they had seen a lot of mountains throughout their travels through the states, the hills of the British countryside were a different kind of beautiful. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Once they were in Glasgow, they debated on what they wanted to do with the rest of their afternoon. Surprisingly, everyone managed to agree on a singular museum to visit. It was a museum that held just about a bit of everything inside of it. The band had gotten somewhat interested in learning about different things throughout history, Max and Connie had made it incredibly hard not to. Buck was very much enjoying all of the second-hand studying that came from learning everything within the museum. He often found himself trailing behind and reading everything alongside Connie. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Steven wasn’t quite sure how much he enjoyed the museums that they visited. Sure, a lot of them held a lot of useful information - but they were all starting to look very similar. How much history of the world could there be? </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The thing that Steven enjoyed most about the museums was watching Connie’s excitement. For the most part, he got to hold her hand as they walked around. He liked hearing her ramble on about the things she was interested in and being in a museum meant that he got to hear more about it - as long as he asked lots of questions. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He always attempted to absorb the information and yet he couldn’t help but be completely absorbed by Connie and whatever it was she was saying. It didn’t seem to stop and that was the best thing about it. He loved her so much and he couldn't concentrate when she was on his mind. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Mornington Crescent by Frank Auerbach.” Steven read the name of the painting and the artist out loud as he stood beside Connie, hand in hand. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What do you think of this one?” Connie glanced over to him, curious to know what his opinion was of the art. As they went around they often bounced opinions and questions off one another, otherwise, it would have been Steven spending most of the time wallowing in his mind as he stared at pieces of history with intent. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Steven studied the painting, squinting slightly as he looked up at the piece of artwork. Connie had taught Steven a lot when it came to analysing paintings and understanding what it meant to create the pieces. Connie had explained it in such a way that it made sense to Steven. If Steven put hidden meanings into his songs then artists usually put hidden meanings into their paintings. He had to try and figure it out, or at least interpret it differently.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“There’s a whole bunch of lines.” Steven shrugged. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes…” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Um...it’s colourful. There are lots of lines. Scribbles. It looks like stick figures are helping each other, but I’m not sure. All if it is a bunch of sticks.” Steven chewed on his bottom lip, attempting to be as invested in the painting as he had done previously when they had been to other museums. He couldn’t quite put it into words how the painting made him feel or the interpretation that he wanted to conclude. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Connie wasn’t sure if his heart was in it. He didn’t quite come up with the same creative reasonings as he had done in the past. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“There are a bunch of lines…” Connie stared at the painting once more. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“The artist was probably angry.” Steven suddenly inputted, quickly making an interpretation that he hadn’t come up with before. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, the art is pretty crazy. Looks like they’ve thrown a brush at the page. Maybe they just needed to...vent?” Steven squinted at the art once more, a little concerned that what he was creating was the wrong interpretation despite being told several times that he could interpret it however he liked. That was the point. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, I can see that.” Connie smiled, always willing to listen to what her boyfriend had to say. Especially when it came to topics that interested her, she enjoyed getting him involved considering how much music she had to listen to or shows she had to attend. It was a fair trade-off. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Before Steven could even think of an audible response, a girl with uncontrollable frizzy hair jumped out of nowhere causing both Steven and Connie to jolt slightly. They weren’t quite expecting that. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Guys! We need to bounce, Buck is going to buy a kilt. There’s a bunch of shops in Glasgow and oh my god - I just </span>
  <em>
    <span>have</span>
  </em>
  <span> to see it.” Max whispered as loud as she possibly could without getting kicked out of an art gallery. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“A kilt?” Steven cocked an eyebrow. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“If he gets one before the show, he’s going to wear it on stage.” Max nudged Steven before tilting her head, wishing that perhaps her friends would listen to her more often and just...come along for the ride. She knew they needed the prompt. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s going to look great.” Buck grinned as he too joined everyone in the small circle they had suddenly created around the aggressive-looking piece of artwork. Steven and Connie hadn’t quite realised how much everyone had gathered around until it was too late.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Badass.” Sour Cream nodded as he happily placed his hands into his hoodie pockets and rocked on his heels. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>There was a moment of contemplation from everyone as they thought about what it was that they wanted to do. There was no getting out of going to one of the stores that sold kilts - that was a given. However, none of them seemed to mind. It was a great idea and Buck seemed excited about it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It wasn’t long before they found themselves in a store along a street in Glasgow. Max and Connie had opted to go to one of the </span>
  <em>
    <span>many</span>
  </em>
  <span> Starbucks that was inside of the city. It was as if there was one on every corner. Much like America. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Why would he order this?” Max squinted down at her phone as she looked at the orders that the band had texted her. Each of them had picked a drink and they were all pretty normal apart from Steven’s which had an abundance of different kinds of syrups and all sorts of chaos that she didn’t quite understand. Even Max was a little bit confused by the order. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’ve tried to stop him in the past, but he’s pretty persistent.” Connie sighed, realising that she was immediately referring back to the drink that Steven had ordered. Of course, he drank a lot of regular coffee - but he loved an iced frappuccino now and then when they did make their way to Starbucks. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Can the human body even consume that much sugar? Unbelievable.” Max read over the order again, now slightly more concerned for Steven’s health. There was no way it was going to have been a good thing for him to have drank something like that. At that point, was it even a drink? Or was it simply just a pile of sugar in a branded cup? </span>
</p><p>
  <span>At least he had a straw. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Do you ever just feel like...things aren’t meant to be?” Connie sighed as she suddenly brought the conversation to a troubling turn. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You can always change what kind of drink you want, y’know? It’s not the end of the world.” Max pointed towards her phone and the list she had of orders as they walked down the street together. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s not that…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Is this about you and Steven? Are you-”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“N-no, it’s about college. It’s about...getting a job. Y’know...tumbling downhill at a million miles an hour into reality and realising that you were never prepared for this as you start to realise that maybe you never</span>
  <em>
    <span> will be</span>
  </em>
  <span> prepared for it. It’s just something that happens. Something that has to happen and you have to put up with it. A constant cascade into the reality of spending so many years in school only to be faced with the real world and have no idea what you’re doing. It’s...life...” Connie sighed, suddenly ranting the frustrations that she had manifested within her mind. Max’s eyes widened at her comments, it certainly sounded like something that she had been stressed out about for a while. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Woah, slow it down, Coffee Bean. Sounds like you’re under a lot of stress.” Max gritted her teeth together, it wasn’t as if she completely knew herself how to handle these situations. Life had thrown itself at Max plenty of times, but that didn't mean she was good at handling it when it did come. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Stressed is the wrong word. I'm-" </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Super stressed? Need peen?" </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Max." Connie sighed, unsure if her friend was going to take her problems seriously or not. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Okay, fine. What are you worried about though? Sure, nobody is prepared for the real world. Why do you think I'm delaying it for another three years?" Max snorted as they reached the front of the coffee shop, she pulled open the door and allowed Connie to step inside. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"You got given the choice. You're way smarter than I am when it comes to that kind of thing." Connie folded over her arms, feeling a little self-conscious. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Well, it took a lot of work - but I got there in the end. You'll figure out what you want and what you're good at. Do you think I'm going to be any good as a lawyer?" </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Of course I do!" </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"You don't know that though. I could be a horrible lawyer, the shittiest one around. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Better Call Max</span>
  </em>
  <span> or some shit. Anyway, my point is that I could get to the end of these three years and not be where I want to be. It's not like I get any encouragement and I have the barking dog that is </span>
  <em>
    <span>society</span>
  </em>
  <span> telling me that I can't be a lawyer. That's some class A bullshit." Max sighed, venting her frustrations with the future that she had chosen for herself. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The truth was the line of work that Max wanted to go into was hard for a woman of colour. She was probably going to have to fight harder than a lot of people in her future classes, but she was willing to do it. She was willing to prove the people who said otherwise wrong! </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"But if I can't get a job in just about anything then it was four years for nothing…" Connie sighed as they both joined the back of the line in Starbucks. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Max pouted slightly at her comment. It seemed as if Connie had ignored whatever it was that Max had to say. Perhaps it wasn't intentional, but it hurt knowing that Connie was far more invested in her worries than she was anything that Max had to say. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"It's whatever. Didn't you have that summer job once? Starbucks is always hiring." Max snorted, not making her friend feel better in the slightest about the situation. Connie scowled, feeling somewhat hurt by her friend's words. What if she did end up with a college degree and a job at Starbucks? That just seemed to have been the way of the world as of late. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Hm, anyway, I'm just worried things might not turn out how they should. Steven's too positive when he speaks about it - I don't think he understands the severity of it all." Connie glanced off to the side, she knew that Steven was only ever trying to help. Although, his optimism often got in the way of being pragmatic about the scenario. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Makes sense." Max didn't particularly want to spend too much time on the subject. It wasn't as if she didn't already know that Connie was struggling to come to terms with how the rest of her life was going to treat her. It was incredibly hard when there wasn't much going on in her life that wasn't related to school. Max wanted to feel some kind of sympathy for Connie and she did, but perhaps not as much as she should have. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Max and Connie returned to the band with a selection of coffees and sugary goods. When they got back, Buck was proudly wearing his newly purchased tartan kilt. Weirdly, it suited him a lot more than a lot of the fashionable items he had worn upon the stage across the years. Everyone loved the kilt and it was heavily appropriate for their first-ever show in Scotland. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Big coffee?" Steven cocked an eyebrow as Connie passed him the sugary drink. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Um, not that big. Mostly just sugar." Connie smirked as she glanced down at her own drink. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Right." Steven sniggered slightly, the recurring joke had been one that they had used time and time again throughout the year. Sometimes, it was incredibly innocent. Otherwise - suggestive. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Taking the time out of their day to make sure that they had enough caffeine to run them into the night was important. Playing upon a stage was incredibly exhausting and they needed to make sure that they had enough energy to do so. Steven wanted nothing more than to play on the stage every single night without being incredibly tired. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Connie had already told him multiple times that he worked incredibly hard. It always made Steven’s heart skip a beat at the words. She believed that his work was a real job and that was all that mattered. It was important to him to know her opinion on the subject. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Connie opted to stand at the side of the stage that night as they played nearly all of the songs from their new album. The crowd seemed to eat it up, loving the new sound that they had taken on for the album that they had made. It was a lot better in production and lyrical value than their first couple of releases. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She listened to the lyrics, hearing Steven’s voice crack as he shouted through the microphone. There was so much emotion in his words that never became hard to follow. His words on the other hand were pretty harsh and Connie often struggled to hear them. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Although, when the new album had come out Connie and Max had a listening party together where they spun the vinyl record around in Max’s room and listened to the lyrics. Max understood right away that a lot of what Steven was talking about was Connie - it was hard to even analyse it any differently. Connie couldn’t quite accept the fact and continued to refuse. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Steven didn’t deny his infatuation with Connie, but he certainly wouldn’t admit that half of his songs on the new album were about her. All the songs had something to do with her and the way he felt about her. She had inspired him to keep writing songs with melodic tones and lyrics that we both sad yet showed a twinge of happiness as he sang about his current situation. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Connie watched as he shredded the Telecaster. No matter how many times she had heard him play the guitar, she was still incredibly impressed. He was so good at what he did. A talent that nobody else she knew could hold just as well as he did. Music was his life and it showed. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>At least it seemed as if Steven had it all figured out when it came to what he wanted to do in life. He wanted to play music - forever and always. Connie wished that she knew what she wanted to do with her life. She wished she was just as sure as Max and Steven, but there was nothing she could do to sway her uncertainty. There was nothing she believed she would have been great at to the point of wanting to have an entire career dedicated to it. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She folded over her arms at the side of the stage and smiled as each of them walked towards her, as Steven stepped off the stage and stepped past her he gave her a prolonged kiss on the lips. Connie giggled at his gesture, a little nervous that some of his fans may have seen just how passionate he was being in his quick kiss. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Steven…” Connie laughed as he pulled away, pushing slightly on his chest that was drenched in sweat. They mostly always kissed after he had been on stage, it was now more or less a thank you from Steven for sticking around for the show. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>There must have been plenty of fans who wanted that to happen to them too. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Steven gestured for her to hold onto his hand as they walked off the stage, following the rest of the band through the corridors of the venue. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I think the kilt sold it.” Buck nodded as he pulled onto either side of the tartan kilt that he had worn throughout the entire show. There was no denying that it suited him. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We’re just good at this! The new album is going down as a hit.” Jenny commented as they all huddled around one another. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Steven wished that he could have been just as excited as everyone else as they all stood around. He wanted to be - perhaps he was? He felt an essence of guilt knowing that he wasn’t in the same headspace as everyone else. It felt as if he was chugging along without consideration for whatever else was happening around him. He was so locked within his mind that there had even been a few moments as he was up on stage where he had to try a lot harder to focus. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>It usually came so naturally to him and yet on the stage that night he felt the need to figure out what it was he was doing. Understanding each movement, each pluck, each strum. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So, we’re ordering pizza - right?” Sour Cream inputted. He was getting pretty hungry now that he had spent the whole night drumming as hard as he possibly could. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Should we see what Max wants?” Jenny cocked an eyebrow, realising their friend was currently outside battling people when it came to selling merchandise. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s going to be cheese. Just cheese and you know it.” Connie informed them all, knowing exactly what Max would have wanted. Sure, Max was always down to experiment when it came to food, but when it came to pizza it was always about the classic margarita. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s valid - you’re right.” Buck nodded in response, scratching his chin in the process. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The band all stood around one another and briefly discussed dinner plans. Steven didn’t input much into the conversation, feeling somewhat vacant from the whole experience. His mind whirled with everything from the prospect of his past creeping up on him to the future that he could have potentially had with Connie. Everything was beginning to be too much, but he needed to remember to be as silent as he possibly could with his problems. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Nobody wanted to hear them. It wouldn’t have been worth it and it would have only come across as irritating for everyone else. He didn’t want to bother anyone or burden them with the problems that he faced within his mind. There was so much. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Steven looked down as he noticed that he was still holding Connie’s hand. There was something about the touch that made him feel he was back at home. A sense of being with someone that he loved dearly and allowing them to love him as much as he loved them. He wanted to feel that love. He wanted her to feel that love too. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He gently lifted her hand to his lips and kissed her gently, the band had already turned away to discuss which pizza they wanted to order. Connie turned around at the touch, noticing that he had planted a small kiss against the top of her hand. She looked over towards him and smiled. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I love you.” Steven confirmed as he kissed the top of her hand once more and held it up to his lips. He didn’t want to let her go. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I love you too.” Connie chuckled slightly as he said the words. The sweet words that he had said time and time again and yet she had never gotten sick of hearing them. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Steven half-smiled as he kissed her hand again as she stepped towards him and placed her head on his chest to hug him. Steven happily placed his arms around her and hugged her tightly at the back of the venue. They both knew that they were thinking about very different things that seemed to have haunted them regardless. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>They needed one another more than anything else. </span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Sheffield</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>It's hard to figure out what to do with your life when everyone around you already seems to have their shit figured out...</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>The drive from Glasgow down to Sheffield was probably the longest drive that they would have throughout the UK tour. Sitting at nearly five hours, it felt a lot more like the kind of journey that they used to have back when they were touring the states. As much as they were used to that kind of trip at that point, it still felt like an eternity. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Steven usually drove around eight hours there and eight hours back,</span>
  <em>
    <span> at least </span>
  </em>
  <span>once every two weeks to go and visit Connie’s college back before she graduated. It was mostly every weekend when he could. Steven was certainly seasoned in making long journeys, so most of the time they were an opportunity for him to listen to music and lose himself in the beauty around him. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>What he enjoyed most about not having to be the one to drive was the fact that he got to spend a lot of time with Connie on the backseat. Something that he wished that he got an opportunity to do when they had last toured the states. It was a little different when Connie and Max were travelling in a different car. It was amazing having the large van so that they could be together. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It seemed as if the couple spent very little time apart from one another. Every single moment that they got to be together they were. It was probably a way to make up for the fact that their long-distance relationship meant that it had become increasingly harder for them to meet up with one another. That didn’t mean that they weren’t together a lot - but they were certainly together a lot less than a couple that lived around the corner to each other. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Steven and Connie spent a lot of time on the phone with one another, that or making video calls. Either way, they were usually in contact. They had finally found someone that they had wanted their whole life, someone to love and care for them. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>So, for a couple that hadn’t spent as much time with one another as perhaps another couple would have, they certainly spent a lot of their time making up for it. So much that occasionally the band would get frustrated with the amount of time that they spent stuck to one another. Max was certainly more than fed up with the affection that they showed and showered each other in. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“How do I spin this chair around so I don’t have to see this? Any more and I’m going to lose my lunch.” Max groaned as she stared straight ahead to see both Steven and Connie practically in each other’s mouths. It seemed that after so long together in front of the band that they were no longer shy with the fact of kissing in front of everyone. Well, not as much as they once were. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>What started as innocent touches and subtle pecks had turned into the couple practically making out. Not quite - but it was enough for everyone in the van to be disgusted by their actions. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Buck is displeased.” Buck shook his head, unable to remove his eyes from the scenario. It was...awful and yet he couldn’t look away. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Buck, seriously - how do I turn this chair?” Max whispered with intent as she tried to get the answers that she needed. The best part about the fancy van was that the two seats in the middle could either be facing the back or the front - currently Max was desperate to spin them around so that she wouldn’t have to watch both Steven and Connie discover one another again. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The couple had been incredibly stressed as of late and getting the extra serotonin boost would have done them both wonders. They needed something that would have made them happy. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Jenny glanced up in the rearview mirror and noticed the young couple making out in the back of the van. She suddenly let out a large groan, trying not to let the scenario distract her too much from driving. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What the fuck, Steven?” Jenny suddenly snapped, causing Steven to release his lips in shock. Connie immediately sat backwards, suddenly embarrassed by what she was doing. What they were doing together. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>What they were doing together in front of everyone. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh...wow - sorry.” Steven laughed nervously as he scratched the back of his neck. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“This is still worse than Portland.” Sour Cream mumbled, refusing to turn around in the passenger seat to see what was going on. He didn’t even need to turn around to know exactly what was happening. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Don’t-” Jenny sighed, refusing to bring up the one time in their past that continued to haunt them all. It was a sensitive subject. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Connie sat in the back and contemplated her decisions. It was wrong of her to have continued to kiss Steven in front of the band - but they never seemed to mind otherwise. Perhaps it was a slight evasion of their privacy if they were to continue to do it inside of the van as they were all driving to their next location. That certainly wouldn’t have been fair. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Steven loved showing his love for Connie and making out in the back of the van whilst everyone else was there wasn’t so much a bad thing. At least, he didn’t think it was. The band had certainly witnessed much worse from Steven throughout their time together, he would have thought that something like this would have been considered sweet. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Well, sweet for about thirty seconds. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Steven desperately needed to get his mind away from the fact that there was a possibility that he could have come across some people from his past when he didn’t want to. As of yet, there had been no sign of them - that left the rest of the tour for Pearl to show up and ruin his life within a single moment. He desperately wished that she was far too busy to even give Steven the time of day. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>If she hadn’t given him the time for years on end then it was highly unlikely that she would have gone out of her way whilst she was working to make his life hell. At least, that’s what Steven was hoping for anyway. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Being with Connie was a good distraction from the reality he knew he had to face at some point. For Connie, losing herself in Steven’s touches was the only thing she could think to do as a way of masking the idea of her being incredibly nervous about being in a position where she would need to start thinking about her future a lot more. She didn’t want to have to think about her future if she didn’t need to. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Yet she had to. There was no way of getting out of it. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“So, do either of you know how to spin this chair around so I never have to witness that again? You made me have a front-fucking-row seat to that shit. As if I haven’t suffered </span>
  <em>
    <span>enough</span>
  </em>
  <span>.” Max sighed as she pointed at the chair she was sitting in, asking both Connie and Steven for some assistance. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I don’t know. Sorry, Max.” Steven shook his head. He had been in the back with Connie the entire journey across the country. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well, if I have to see any of that again I will projectile vomit over you both.” Max furrowed her eyebrows and folded over her arms. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“That’s…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Full-blown </span>
  <em>
    <span>Exorcist</span>
  </em>
  <span>.” Max shook her head, wanting them to know just how serious she was about her threat. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We’ll behave!” Steven chuckled, lifting his hands in his defence. He certainly wouldn’t have behaved if they were alone. He could have happily spent the whole day making out with his girlfriend. He had no shame in admitting that... </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Sheffield was strange. It felt like the only place that they had been that had trams dotted anywhere and everywhere. Jenny didn’t quite enjoy driving around them, for the most part, considering they mostly dominated sections of the road that she thought were for cars when suddenly they weren’t. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Admittedly, they had circled the same roundabout several times before they finally got to the hotel that they would have been staying at that night. Jenny didn’t want to admit that she couldn’t seem to get off the one huge roundabout that they had been subjected to. It circled a huge shopping centre and nobody knew how to escape. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>In fact, they were so impressed by how they had been trapped by the shopping mall when they got there that they decided to visit it later on during the day. It was known to be one of the most iconic malls in the UK. Meadowhall shopping centre was pretty impressive, to say the least. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Me, Max and Connie are going to have a day together and you guys can do whatever you guys...do.” Jenny furrowed her eyebrows as she pointed at Steven, Sour Cream and Buck. They all looked back with vacant expressions. The only time they ever really went shopping together was when Jenny dragged them along to buy new outfits for photoshoots or music videos. There wasn't much need otherwise. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>That didn't mean they didn't enjoy their time together. Jenny very much enjoyed hanging out with the girls throughout the day, getting frustrated with Buck, Sour Cream and Steven was just their dynamic at times. Jenny very much missed the female company of her sister when on the road and Max and Connie were the perfect people to fill that void. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"We don't exactly do much. What are we supposed to do?" Sour Cream questioned, a little unsure what they could have possibly done or spent their money on. What were they supposed to buy? Clothes? </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>They hoped that there was an arcade somewhere in the shopping mall. That would have been a good way to spend their time. The time that otherwise they would have spent milling around doing nothing. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Go shopping - we're in a </span>
  <em>
    <span>mall</span>
  </em>
  <span>." Jenny used a sarcastic tone towards him, lifting her hand and silently judging them all. She didn't have to be silent about it - they knew. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Right." Sour Cream pressed his lips into a thin line, unsure on how to respond. There wasn't much he could have done to defend them. None of them knew what to do. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It didn't take long for them all to split up. Max and Connie didn't mind being dragged around the mall by Jenny, she was enjoying the experience. Max was the sort of person that loved the idea of shopping until actually shopping themselves. The day just seemed to drag as she was pulled around shop after shop - it never ended. Connie was indifferent to the experience, more frustrated by the fast fashion that the highstreet held. It was no better in the UK than it was anywhere else in the world. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Steven, Buck and Sour Cream had taken to finding Buck a new pair of shoes - his current pair of Converse had seen better days. It wouldn't have taken long to replace them, figuring that he was just going to replace them with the same thing. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"You should probably get new ones too, man. They've been through the works." Buck pointed down to Steven's beaten up red Vans. He had been wearing them for years, long enough for the soles to be wearing on the bottom, the foxing to have crumbled enough to break away and holes on the side where he had scraped it against his skateboard's grip tape. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"What's wrong with them?" Steven furrowed his eyebrows as he looked down at his shoes. Connie had commented on them several times. It was already on her agenda in the back of her mind that he would probably need a pair gifted to him for his next birthday. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>They were just as bad when they had first met, it didn't help that he had continued to wear them throughout the year - at one point even fixing the bottom with tape. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"They're...dude, buy new shoes." Sour Cream shoved his hands into his hoodie pockets and stared down at the red Vans. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Steven remembered a similar conversation when Connie had gotten her new Converse during their last tour. She still wore them all the time, it seemed as if it was money well spent. Last year on the tour, Steven didn't have much money and couldn't afford to buy a new pair of shoes. Now he could buy a pair he was more afraid of losing an old friend. The red Vans had been with him throughout copious amounts of tours and beyond. He couldn't imagine replacing them. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"I don't know…"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"They shouldn't have survived this long, but for you to have taken them through hell and back for them to remain as intact as they have...you got yourself a decent pair of shoes." Buck held onto Steven's shoulder in the middle of the shop as they both stared down at his shoes before continuing. "But sometimes, you just have to let old things retire. They've had their run - let them rest." Buck sighed, continuing on the technique of trying to get Steven to buy the new pair of shoes. He deserved it. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Steven looked down at the shoes with a sad expression, they had been through everything with him. It did hurt thinking about throwing them away. Steven wasn't a materialistic person, yet in this instance, that was all he could think about. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Steven clenched his fists together and took a deep breath. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"I'll buy new shoes!" He suddenly blurted out as both Buck and Sour Cream nodded in agreement. They had won the argument - Jenny would have been so pleased with them considering she had been trying to convince him to buy a new pair for months. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Connie walked alongside Max as Jenny led them through the mall. It was pretty big, well, the British seemed to think it was big enough. It had just about every shop that you could have imagined being in a mall. Made for convenience and beyond.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Connie didn’t exactly have anything that she wanted to buy. She had been shopping with Steven numerous times and throughout the year, she had also been on days out with Jenny and Max. When they did get the chance to all hang out it was always a fun time together. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“When are we going to get ice cream?” Max groaned, getting to the point during the shopping trip where she had suddenly decided that she was bored. It didn’t help that Jenny had politely asked Max to hold her bags. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Max found it hard to deny anything that Jenny asked, although immediately regretted it when she found out what her task was. Max could have been seen as the stereotypical husband figure to Jenny, trailing around behind desperately wanting to leave. It was no secret that Jenny had only brought half a suitcase full of clothing items and beyond - she could pick up the rest when she was there. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Max, do you ever stop </span>
  <em>
    <span>moaning</span>
  </em>
  <span>?” Jenny sighed as she held up a nice pair of skinny jeans in front of her, judging whether or not they were something that she wanted to buy. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“C’mon Jen, you’ve got to give me context, else I’m going to take that and run.” Max shook her head, thinking about all of the dirty things she could have said instead. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh, no context for you, Maxipoo.” Jenny snorted before turning around and pressing her finger in between Max’s eyes. Max went cross-eyed at the touch, desperately wanting to swat her away but not being able to due to her holding onto the shopping bags. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Connie stood beside them both, staring off into the corner of the room at the cashiers behind the desk. She silently wondered whether or not they had college degrees, but life being life threw them a curveball. Perhaps it was a good in-between before excelling into a full-time career? Perhaps this was their career? Either way, it looked like they had it figured out. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hey, Mission Control - are you going to buy anything or are you too busy thinking about those student debts?” Max snapped her free fingers in front of Connie’s face, immediately dragging her from her trance. Connie looked up at both Max and Jenny realising they were staring at her. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m fine.” Connie chuckled nervously, taking note of Max’s concern. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Are you sure, is it these jeans?” Jenny commented as she held them up, causing Connie to laugh. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“N-no not the jeans. I’m fine.” Connie smiled, internally beating herself up for the thoughts that she was having. There was far too much going on in her mind and it didn’t help that it felt as if everything around her was crumbling in return. Especially with what poor Steven was experiencing. That certainly wasn’t fair. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"</span>
  <em>
    <span>I'm fine</span>
  </em>
  <span> is just a poor excuse to not talk about your feelings." Max snorted, nudging Connie slightly in her shoulder. After spending so long together it was easy to tell when something was up. Despite Max not being the best at reading people, she had learnt how to read Connie like a book. Nothing could get past Max.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Come on, Connie. You can always talk to us." Jenny pushed, attempting to get Connie to open up about her feelings. Connie barely opened up her feelings to Steven, rarely Max and never to her parents. It was highly unlikely she would have spurted much about how she was feeling in that moment to both Max and Jenny. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Connie shook her head and blushed, they probably thought it was about Steven and not the impending fear she had of her future and everything in it. There was no way that any of this could go well. Connie's future was going to be a mess and she already knew it. It was a given.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"No, really, I'm fine! I think the jeans are nice too, Jenny. You should try them on!" Connie suggested, trying to be a part of the small friendship group. It was hard to fit in when she didn't fit in at all. At least, she never thought she did. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Well, okay...if you think so!" Jenny held up the jeans once more with a smile before heading over to the changing rooms. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Connie sighed heavily as she sat herself down on one of the chairs opposite the changing rooms. Max carefully balanced the bags she was holding before stumbling into the chair and making her way to sit beside her best friend. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Man, my arms hurt." Max complained, a little unsure how all of this was going to fit in the back of the van let alone Jenny's suitcases. Would they even let her bring all of this back? There was no telling. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"That's because you're carrying all the bags." </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Look, I'm used to carrying emotional baggage. This? This is far too physically exhausting." Max sighed as she folded over her arms and slumped back in the chairs, closing her eyes in the process. She could have slept for a good day or so - the tour was tiring. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Yeah, I can vouch for that." Connie tittered before picking at the skin around her fingernails. Max sat up slightly and looked over, noticing how distant her friend had been since they had touched down in the UK. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Are you sure everything is okay? None of that </span>
  <em>
    <span>I'm fine</span>
  </em>
  <span> bullshit." Max held onto either side of the chair as she leant backwards. Connie thought about what it was that Max was trying to get across, it was clear that her best friend knew exactly what was going on. Or perhaps…</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I told you what was going on.” Connie furrowed her eyebrows, recalling the conversation about her future with Max when they had previously gone to go and get a coffee together. Max should have remembered what she had mentioned. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh, you’re still worried about not getting a job and wasting the past four years of your life?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Right. Makes sense.” Max chewed on her bottom lip, a little unsure on how to help the situation. There wasn’t anything that she could have done to make Connie feel any better, her blunt comment didn't seem to help. The reality was that a lot of people came out of college with degrees that didn’t quite amount to what they wanted them to. “So, this tour is pretty fun - right?” Max added, wanting to start a conversation with Connie as Jenny hid away in the changing room. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Fun. It wasn’t a word that Connie would have completely used to describe the UK tour. It was more...a drag. There was so much on her mind that it was hard to have...fun. There was so much she wanted to see and do in the UK, but it was nearly impossible to do any of that when both her and Steven were battling their internal thoughts. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>How could it possibly be...fun? </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Perhaps that was the problem?</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I don’t know if it’s </span>
  <em>
    <span>fun</span>
  </em>
  <span>.” Connie looked away. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What? You’re not having fun?” A part of Max was a little hurt by the words, Star Destroyers as a band and experience meant everything to her. For Connie to say that she wasn’t having fun on the tour was harsh. Max certainly didn’t want Connie to just come along to be Steven’s girlfriend - Max wanted her to have fun too. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It wasn’t like the last tour. There was nobody to fall in love with and there certainly weren't any new experiences. Well, the new experiences seemed to be experiences that weren’t quite ones anyone would want to partake in. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s just…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You find the British boring?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Is it because you’re thinking about how after this tour we’re not going to be roomies for a while?” Max cocked an eyebrow. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>A while? </span>
  </em>
  <span>Connie’s heart ached at the idea. In Max’s mind, it didn’t quite seem like a permanent thing to not be college dorm buddies. What was Max thinking? What could that have suggested? </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No.” Connie shook her head, a deadpan expression across her face. Max was somewhat taken back by her quick response - a little hurt at the sound of her singular word. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh. Harsh.” Max chuckled as she pushed her fingertips against her chest, trying her hardest not to show how hurt she was at Connie’s fast comment. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh, I didn-”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s cool.” Max confirmed with a quick nod. She wasn’t prepared to get into her emotions. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Connie stared down at her hands as she pushed them together, wondering what the rest of the band were up to. It wasn’t that she didn’t enjoy spending time with Max and Jenny, but it was nice to hang out with everyone at once. They had already all agreed to go and get some early dinner with each other so that they were fed before playing the show. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The tour had barely begun and yet Connie thought a lot about going home. It wasn’t so much that she wanted to go home - but the idea was in the back of her mind. She knew that if she did go home she would have to face all of her fears. Every one of her worries was going to become true and then that would have been the end of Connie Maheswaran. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Jenny liked the jeans that she tried but decided against them. She had already brought too much in the shopping centre and it took a little while for her to admit it. All Max needed to do was give a disapproving look down at all of the shopping bags that she was carrying for her. Max would have happily have done anything for anyone in the band, despite being their friends - she was still their biggest fan! </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Connie ran her fingers against the countertop as she waited for Max to purchase a keychain with a cheeseburger on it. She had no idea why it was something that anyone would ever have wanted - but Max liked awful nicknacks like that. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Connie couldn’t help but feel as if she was wasting her time shopping, it was just the case of being dragged around by her friends. It sucked being sad. Well, she didn’t want to quite admit that she was sad. It was more or less the case that she just felt...empty. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>There was so much going on in her mind that it was hard to comprehend everything. It was hard to feel or express her sadness in front of Steven as she knew he was also going through a pretty tough time, partially because of her inability to tell her parents the truth. That didn’t help her in not feeling terrible about just about everything. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Out the corner of her eye, she noticed a selection of notebooks, most of which had incredibly cheesy phrases on the front of them. She missed having a bunch of notebooks to her name, using them for harbouring million dollar ideas and using to jot down notes for school. Most of which were at home. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It occurred to her that when she was younger most of what she spent her money on was notebooks and pens to help aid her studies. She had a thing when it came to notebooks, there was nothing better than getting a brand new one! There were always so many to choose from that it was just a given that she would always have to buy multiple. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She had noticed that Steven used the traditional method of writing songs, mostly using notebooks to think up his words. Connie found it interesting considering he was technologically up to date with just about everything else, she always questioned why he took pictures of the inside of a book and sent them to the band with the lyrics rather than just typing them out on a Boogle document to share with them all. It was bizarre to her, considering despite her use of notebooks she always used her laptop to communicate just about anything and everything. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Steven took a notebook with him no matter what tour he was on or where he was going. It didn’t have to be on his person at all times, but it certainly had to be in his bag somewhere. It was the only way he knew how to jot down the lyrics that came into his head after a full day. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Connie had noticed that even in the past couple of days, there had been a few times in which Steven had pulled out the notebook and sat up at the table in the hotel room for a few minutes tapping the pen against his forehead before scribbling on the page aggressively. Connie never questioned what it was he was writing, but occasionally he did share the profound poetry that he had written. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He had even written small songs and poems for her. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Admittedly, most of the newest album had taken inspiration from the tour in which he had fallen in love. It was hard not to write about something that had such an impact on his life. Connie was mad about the fact that most of the songs were about her in the beginning but eventually warmed up to the idea. Perhaps it was sweet? </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Connie picked up one of the notebooks and silently flicked through the pages. She certainly had Steven on her mind when staring at the empty pages, thinking about how the pages could one day be filled with wonderful words. Words that would eventually make their way into a song, whether that was through his beautiful singing voice or the way that he shouted every day. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It was then that she looked past the notebook, noticing that there was another one leaning up against the ones with inspirational quotes and weird images of cartoon llamas. She put the notebook down before picking up the one in the back that was covered in images of Fender Telecasters - the same guitar that Steven played. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well, isn’t that fitting. Are you going to get it?” Max suddenly snuck up behind Connie, making her jump slightly. She turned to see Max leaning over her shoulder, spinning her newly purchased cheeseburger keyring around her finger. Connie hadn’t noticed before, but the cheeseburger had a face. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hmm, he does need a new one.” Connie thought about it for a moment. It would have been nice to get Steven something, even if it was something silly and small. Steven wasn’t a very materialistic person, but he did enjoy surprises. Connie was pretty good at figuring out what he wanted. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Get it.” Max insisted, what was the worst that could happen? It was just a notebook. He would have loved whatever gift Connie would have gotten him. As long as it was something from Connie he would have been over the moon. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>What if he didn’t like it? What if it was wrong? What if he didn’t want to use it for what she intended its purpose to be? What if he suddenly decided that he no longer liked that style of guitar? Why did she suddenly have so much anxiety about...a notebook?</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Is it stupid I’m even thinking about this?” Connie suddenly spoke in a deflated tone. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s like three dollars. Why do I feel like it’s such a big decision?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Three dollars is pretty steep.” Max sucked the air through her teeth. Nothing would compare to the amount that she spent on the plushie wolf in the zoo gift shop that one time. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No kidding.” Connie sighed, putting the notebook back on the stand. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What are you doing?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Putting it back.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Why?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I don’t...he’d probably prefer to buy it himself. He’d have brought a new notebook if he needed one.” Connie went to turn around before Max stopped her in her tracks. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Connie, listen to me - I’m sure Steven would love a bunch of dead trees in the shape of a notebook to write in. It has cool ass guitars on it! They’re </span>
  <em>
    <span>Telecasters</span>
  </em>
  <span>, the guitar of emo gods! If you don’t get it for him, I will! That’s too cool to pass up.” Max made a convincing argument. It was one that made Connie truly question why she was being so fussy about something that didn’t matter. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She never wanted to disappoint Steven with whatever it was that she brought him as a gift. She always wanted him to be happy with whatever she brought him and whatever she provided for him. It sucked that she even had to think about it. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’ll get it, but because I want to - not because you told me to.” Connie laughed slightly, picking the book back up and holding it in front of her. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Right. Yes.” Max chuckled along with her, nodding rapidly.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>After Connie had purchased the notebook, both her and Max went outside and rejoined Jenny who had sat outside on her phone texting as she was surrounded by shopping bags. As much as she wanted to look at useless gifts like both Max and Connie, she certainly didn’t appreciate the small erasers or weird stationery as much as the best friends. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The cashier asked if Connie would like a paper bag for her purchase. It annoyed Connie that such a small item would have such a need for something so disposable. Why would they offer such a thing to her? What would have been the point? Sure, it was better than a plastic bag - but it was pointless. Connie denied, but by the time that she had attempted to formulate an argument inside of her mind against it the cashier had already passed it over.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Max stopped her from ranting about the subject almost immediately, as soon as she was handed the notebook back inside of a paper bag she knew that she was about to go off on the issue. Max didn’t mind a good Connie rant, but she didn’t want to have to listen to it that day. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>As soon as they made their way to the food court of the huge shopping centre they met up with the boys. It was easy to choose where they wanted to eat, they had already had a few text conversations about it. 'Anywhere with ice cream' was the common consensus. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It took practically seconds for Steven and Connie to find themselves latched onto one another again. Connie held onto either side of the notebook as she stepped into Steven’s personal space and quickly kissed him on the lips to reunite them both. Spending the day apart wasn’t hard - but Steven certainly preferred when they were together. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Connie immediately looked down and noticed the brand new red Vans that he was wearing. She had never seen him in such a clean pair of shoes. They looked so incredibly different from his last pair that it was great to see him in them.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Woah! New shoes?” Connie looked up with a chuckle, continuing to grip onto either side of the notebook covered by the paper bag. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh yeah, I still have the old ones though. I couldn’t throw away an old friend. It’s just...they convinced me to.” Steven blushed as he scratched the back of his neck before pointing behind him to both Buck and Sour Cream.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’ve been telling you to get a new pair for months!” Connie groaned, realising that her words didn’t get through. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Holy shit, new shoes! I’ve been telling you for </span>
  <em>
    <span>years</span>
  </em>
  <span>!” Jenny suddenly inputted as she pointed down to the shiny new red Vans. It was incredible to see the difference between the new and the old pair, Connie secretly couldn’t wait to get the pairs side by side in the hotel room. She was the sort of person to be fascinated by the decay. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah, I know. I finally did it!” Steven laughed, he didn’t want to admit on the spot that the reasoning behind not getting the shoes sooner was pretty much down to not having the cash and then not having the time or motivation to go out and buy a new pair. It was nice to wear them though, he forgot how cushioned they were when he originally brought his old pair. It felt nice. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“They look great! Now we both have nice shoes.” Connie pressed her Converse up against his shoe. Although Connie’s shoes were now a year old, she was incredibly good at looking after them. She mostly used them whenever she was going out to do anything band related. They treated her well at shows and whenever Connie was watching Steven do anything music-related. They helped her to fit in. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Soooooooo, what did you get?” Steven smiled before glancing down at the item in Connie’s hand. He gently poked the middle of it, Connie smiling back at his playful charm. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well, it’s a gift...for you!” Connie admitted as she held out the notebook for Steven to take from her. “It’s only a silly little thing. It made me think of you and I thought you could do with a new one.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Steven slowly took the gift from Connie, his heart beating a little faster at the gesture. He looked down in shock at the item inside of the paper bag. It didn’t matter what it was, the fact that Connie had gone out of her way to get him something was beyond him. It was such a nice gesture and if he wasn’t standing inside of a food court he probably would have cried slightly at the sight. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“For me?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah, for you!” Connie laughed, pushing the gift towards his chest as she stared up at his dumbfounded expression. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He wasn’t sure whether or not Connie had gotten him the gift to make up for the bad couple of days that he was having, but either way, the gesture in itself was nice. He was over the moon with joy that she had even thought about him for a moment to have purchased such a gift. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Steven smiled before opening up the paper bag and pulling out the notebook. The gift was so simple and yet had a million different meanings. He looked over the front cover and noticed the small repeated pattern of guitars. It was certainly pretty. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s only something sm-”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I love it!” Steven immediately cut her off. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I thought your old one was all full up and you’re going to have to start writing that new EP soon!” Connie attempted to justify her small purchase with an abundance of words all at once. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m going to write so much! Thank you, Connie!” Steven happily held the book to his chest, his childlike mannerisms causing her to smile. It was nice to know that such a small gesture had meant so much to him. Especially when he had spent far too long wallowing in his sadness. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Before Connie could even say another word, Steven had wrapped his arms around her for a big hug. It was one that caused her to flush a shade of red. One that she realised at that moment she needed more than anything else.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Being in Steven’s arms felt like home. Warm and welcoming. Loving and sweet. She couldn’t help herself but to fall into his shoulder and allow him to slowly rock her back and forth as he teetered on his new shoes. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Hey Steven, look at what I got!" Max excitably shouted over the top of what once was a hug between the couple. They stepped away from each other as Max suddenly caught Steven's attention with the small cheeseburger keychain that she was once against dangling on the end of her finger. She knew that Steven would find the novelty item entertaining. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Cheeseburger keychain!" Steven shouted way more excitedly than anyone would have expected. Connie took a step back at the commotion, allowing them to both have their fun as she watched from a distance. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Isn't it cool?" </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Anything cheeseburger related is cool!" Steven stepped over to Max and cradled the small item with one of his hands, the other keeping the new notebook under his arm. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Rightl See, <em>you</em> get it!" </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"I had a cheeseburger backpack as a kid." Steven suddenly stated proudly, still examining the keychain. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"So like, was it a backpack with a picture of a cheeseburger on it, was it made of a cheeseburger or was it a backpack shaped like a cheeseburger?" Max shot out some rapid-fire questions, desperate to know where she could harness such power that came with owning a cheeseburger backpack. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Oh no, it was a backpack that was cheeseburger shaped! Even the cheese was pockets." Steven scoffed, suddenly feeling impressed he had once owned such a thing. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Wait. What? That's amazing! Where do you get it? I need one. Immediately." Max suddenly begged for the answers. She totally would have used it in law school and been kicked out immediately. Worth it. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"...I don't know. My dad got it for me." Steven sadly looked away, feeling irritated with himself that he couldn't find such an item again. The likelihood was it was probably some kind of promotional item that his mother got from playing somewhere or one of her songs playing in a commercial. It was likely. Either of the options was feasible. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Bummer." Max sighed with disappointment in her tone, really wishing that one day she too could own a cheeseburger backpack. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It didn't take long for the band to eat and decide that they still had enough time to crash at the hotel for a while before heading out for soundcheck and to get set up for the show in the evening. As they made their way back to the hotel, they once against piled into the van. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Connie sat beside Steven and watched happily as she took note of the fact he was </span>
  <em>
    <span>already</span>
  </em>
  <span> scribbling in the notebook that she had gotten him. He had a lot to get down. It was certainly a good thing that Steven was writing in his notebook, the only times Connie had ever seen him do such a thing was throughout tours, after shows, in his apartment during the dead of night and the corner of her college dorm. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"What are you writing?" Connie questioned, curiosity getting the best of her. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Hopefully, one day - another new album." Steven laughed, not quite showing Connie exactly what was in the book. Connie wasn't one to pry when it wasn't her business and Steven often spent a lot of time writing lyrics. She would have loved to have heard what he had written down, but he probably would have preferred to show it to her once he had a melody in his head and a guitar to play along to. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He mostly always showed her the new songs that he was writing. Connie loved hearing them, especially since for the most part when he played them back to her they were mostly on acoustic guitar before he went ahead and turned up the volume on his electric. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Connie liked to see Steven writing in the notebook and took a quick mental note of how he was. It seemed as if he was doing a lot better than he had been doing the past couple of days. With Pearl in the picture, his mind was constantly plagued by bad thoughts, he was going through a rough time and to see him in his element was rewarding. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Connie leant back on the backseat of the van and sighed with a slight smile. Things may not have been exactly where she wanted them to be, but at least at that moment, she felt some kind of peace within her life. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She had gotten Steven a nice gift and he was already using it. He looked content scribbling on the pages, it was cathartic in a way to get his thoughts down on the page. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Perhaps...things were looking...up. </span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Birmingham</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>There's so much that's going on in both Steven and Connie's heads that it might be a good idea to just...relax. </p>
<p>Except - they can't.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>The show the previous night made the entire band realise that Sheffield was very much a party city surrounded by plenty of rowdy alternative students. The show that they had played had most definitely been the best one that they had played the entire tour. Once again, it was mostly due to the type of crowd that they had to get behind every one of their songs. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Max had even taken the opportunity of having the crazy crowd around here to participate in some much-deserved crowd surfing. One of her favourite activities. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The band had spent some time together in the venue before heading back to the hotel. Connie was far more tired that night for some reason, she mostly put it down to the fact that she had stayed up far too late with Steven relaxing after the show. They had cuddled up in the hotel bed together and sat watching whatever TV shows they could find at one in the morning on the small hotel television. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>At the time, they weren't tired. Steven had fallen asleep after around thirty minutes of flicking through the channels and only coming across horrible shows attempting to sell cheap jewellery over the phone. Connie was in control of the remote and found it weirdly fascinating that people still purchased items through a strange channel that they had watched on the television. She was sure some of them were repeats. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Her night ended at around two in the morning where she switched the light from the television for the one on her phone, illuminating her face as she continued to flick through job listings that she was realising she wasn't qualified for. Well, she was qualified for them - but they weren't things that she could have ever seen herself doing. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Her self-esteem was so low it was hard to picture herself in many roles that didn't see her being a huge disappointment to her parents. It wasn't as if she ever intentionally wanted to disappoint them, but it was getting to a point where all of the job listings we're so tedious in what they wanted her to do that she was just struggling even more. It felt as if no matter what she did she couldn't have won. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Steven slept peacefully beside her, the only thing she could hear throughout the night were Steven's small snores as the distant sound of the flooring outside of the door creaking as people returned to their hotel rooms. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Steven didn't quite know the extent Connie had been looking through her phone at new jobs. Every single time she got an opportunity she was refreshing the page to see if there were any new job listings in or around Beach City. Most of the time, it was coming up with the same results. As she furthered her results she began to remove the filters one by one. Slowly, her search results began showing jobs that were on the west coast. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Even still - none of them suited her. None of them she truly believed she could have done as a career. She wasn't good enough for any of them despite going to college for the past four years to study the thing in which they needed someone qualified in. She was qualified, but her anxiety was telling her not to even bother applying. She already knew they would have said no. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It took a long time for Connie to put her phone down to the point in which she felt as if she could have slept. She begged that as soon as she put the phone down she would have been in a position to fall straight to sleep and yet, that night, she closed her eyes and nothing happened. The only thing that happened was the constant thoughts that littered her mind. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She was suddenly jealous of Steven's ability to fall asleep. It wasn't fair that he could have pretty much fallen asleep anywhere if she shut his eyes for long enough. It was a superpower in her eyes. One that she wished she too could have harnessed. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Morning." Steven smiled as he turned over after a full eight hours of sleep. It was surprising that he had even been able to get so much sleep after Connie had spent the entire night trying to figure out how that was possible. How was it possible...to sleep? </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Hi." Connie spoke in a sleepy tone, one that matched how she sounded most mornings. It wouldn't have been off to Steven to have heard her that way. He wouldn't have suspected a thing. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"You didn't stay up and watch commercials all night, did you? I must have...fallen asleep." Steven questioned before chuckling slightly and running his fingers through his hair. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"You got me!" Connie laughed nervously. He didn't need to know how her anxiety had kept her up at night.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Steven shuffled closer towards her, making sure that they were facing before he gently kissed her nose. The best part about being Steven’s girlfriend was that no matter the time of day he was always showering her with affection. For the most part, it was the affection that she didn’t quite believe that she deserved. Either way, she was grateful for it. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Coming from what felt to be a touch starved home and suddenly being in the arms of one of the most lovable humans to have ever walked the Earth was certainly the biggest change. Connie loved his not-so-subtle touches and loving kisses that made her feel more special than her mind depicted. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The day started like any other, with Steven beside her and the prospect of getting a good breakfast from the restaurant inside of the hotel. She usually had the same thing most morning, considering the hotel chain that they were staying with had the same restaurant to content with. The food was pretty good and there hadn’t been a single time where they had to make any kind of complaint.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>They set off on their journey down south towards Birmingham. The band was getting lazy on what they wanted to do throughout the day, mostly just hanging out wherever they wanted. It didn’t seem to matter where they were - as long as they were together outside of the shows hanging out they could have been anywhere. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The drives were getting shorter, at least it felt like it. That wasn’t so much a bad thing, but it meant that they couldn’t even get a full movie in the time it took for them to go from location to location. The drives were short-lived and mostly consisted of singing along together to songs that they heard on the radio. Max was very lucky to get to do karaoke with Star Destroyers. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Max sometimes wished that she wasn’t the only one to make all of the suggestions for where it was that they should have gone, although on this one occasion she was very much glad that she had suggested where they ended up. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Everything is so…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Wait, didn’t Phil Collins have something to do with this gorilla?” Buck pointed towards the life-sized gorilla sitting at a drum kit behind the clear glass. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I think so.” Steven furrowed his eyebrows as he looked towards the exhibit. Now, if he were to go to any kind of museum off his own back it would have been something like this. Well, not so much a museum of the sort, but a-</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I can’t believe we’re in a chocolate factory!” Max grinned as she clenched her fists together and thought about where she was. Everywhere they went inside of the building had a sweet smell of chocolate, one that didn’t even smell artificial. It smelled amazing. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Connie was far too tired, the band had even decided to go to Birmingham much earlier than usual. The drive was pretty short and it would have been great to have spent a bit of time exploring whatever it was that they wanted to explore. In this case, it just so happened to have been a chocolate factory. Well, one that did tours and showed everyone years of making chocolate.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Steven bought a little too much chocolate, although he convinced Connie that a lot of what he had bought he would have given to his dad once he had gotten home. He was sure Greg would have appreciated him buying lots of British chocolate. Greg had expressed how much he had enjoyed it once before when someone had gotten him some in the past. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Steven didn’t quite believe his dad as to how good the chocolate was going to have been, but after spending the day in the factory it was interesting to see how much he truly enjoyed eating the sweet treat. His dad would have loved it! </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The day out was nice to spend with everyone, once again spending a good amount of time with one another was the best way for them all to bond.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It was a lot of fun for them to do so. Other than playing the shows themselves, it was one of the best things about going on tour! Spending time with the band outside of being on the stage was a great way for them to bond. Besides, all of the band were already close enough to have considered each of them siblings. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Max had certainly taken on the role too. There were so many things that pointed in the direction of Max being a part of them. It was a shame that Max couldn’t quite join the band with another instrument because if she could then she definitely would have given it a go. However, at the moment she was more than happy to have kept herself occupied with the merch. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Upon finally going back to the hotel they decided to spend a bit of time getting back on top of their rest as they awaited the show in the evening. They had quite a few hours before they had to go and set up, so it gave them enough time to do whatever they wanted to do. Buck and Sour Cream were going to sit around in their hotel room thinking of new beats to make on Sour Cream’s laptop. Jenny and Max were either going to spend their time scrolling through social media or trying to find out which pizza place delivered to the hotel the fastest. Steven and Connie on the other hand…</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You should get some sleep before the show tonight. You look exhausted.” Steven furrowed his eyebrows over at Connie as he laced up his shoe as he sat on the chair on the opposite side of the room. Connie was sitting in the middle of the bed running her fingers through her hair, he was right. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well, you look really pretty too.” Steven corrected with a slight blush in his smile, feeling as if his previous comment came across as rude. It was true though, she did look tired! </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’ll be fine.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No! You force me to get rest all the time, can’t I look after you too?” Steven stood up and placed his hands on his hips, getting somewhat defensive over the scenario. Connie shook her head with a small smile, of course Steven would want to look after her. She had forced him to take naps plenty of times in the past. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What are you supposed to do?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Probably go and hang with the guys or roam the streets of this fine city so that I don’t disturb you.” Steven smirked, the best part about being Connie’s boyfriend was that he could be a </span>
  <em>
    <span>good </span>
  </em>
  <span>boyfriend. "I also left our toothpaste in the last hotel...I should probably get some more." He sniggered. Mistakes had been made. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hmm, I suppose naps are pretty productive.” Connie thought about the health benefits of napping for a short period and immediately unlocked her phone so that she could set an alarm. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“See! I’ll be back in a bit and then we can cuddle for a while, right?” Steven pointed a set of finger guns at her. He was ready to have an excuse to have some time to himself and allow Connie to get rest. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah, we can.” Connie giggled softly as Steven pushed his knuckles into the bed as he leant over and kissed her on the lips. He seemed to have been more than excited to have been allowed to be on his own. He needed the space. Even if just for a little while. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>As Connie took her well-deserved nap, Steven decided it would have been a good idea for him to go and explore the city. There wasn’t much that he had on his agenda for what he wanted to do with his time. It was weird that on tour he got any time to himself to do whatever it was that he wanted when for the most part he spent it with the band. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>From going from having alone time at the end of shows to always being with Connie, unless he was stuck at home alone in his apartment there wasn’t a lot of time that he got to be with his own company. It was nice to be alone sometimes, despite the amount of time he had spent in his lonely apartment feeling horrible about himself. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Perhaps being alone wasn’t all it was cracked up to be and it didn’t seem to matter too much to anyone around him if he was gone for a while. He hoped that he didn’t get lost in the city, he could always pull out Boogle maps if he needed to get himself back to the hotel. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The streets were packed with people, it was nice to have been walking around on his own. When he was in a crowd with other people he always felt an urge of responsibility - as if he had to be the one to look after them. With Connie, he always held her hand when in crowds. With everyone else, he constantly made sure he was looking behind him to make sure that he hadn’t lost them all. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Being in a crowd alone wasn’t quite as anxiety-inducing and Steven appreciated that. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Being in Birmingham, Steven couldn’t help but feel as if there was some kind of significance between that and the first place that he had kissed Connie. He remembered that night as if it was yesterday. He was sure that was the night that he knew he had fallen in love with the girl. A moment that couldn’t quite be matched by anything else that he had ever experienced.  </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>There on the opposite side of the street was a small music store that immediately caught his eye. If there was anything relating to music, Steven would have been the first person to have spotted it. If he didn’t have anything else to do with his time and if there was a music store in the vicinity, then he certainly would have spent his time there instead. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>There was nothing better than going ahead and spending his time inside of a music store playing every one of the guitars that they had on display. It was the best place for him when he was in a mood. Well, he wasn’t so much in a mood at that moment - at least not one that he was willing to let other people see. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>When Steven was back at home in Nashville there was a little independent music store that he got all of his musical instruments and equipment from. The owner knew his dad from back in the day and always had time to have a conversation with Steven about his music career. It would have been weird to have gone into a music store that wasn’t the one back at home, especially since in the back of his mind he was convinced that he was going to have spent some money that day. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He pushed open the glass door and was immediately hit by the sight of a bunch of guitars hanging up on the walls surrounding him. There was a desk in front of him where a balding man in glasses sat fiddling around with a guitar sat up on the counter. He looked up at Steven as soon as he walked through the door, the small bell on top of the door indicating that he had entered. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The man smiled over at Steven, noticing the young man’s dumbfounded expression as he stared at the walls around him. It didn’t seem as if the store carried any electric guitars, well, at least not what would have been considered a classic electric guitar. Anything that was in the store mostly consisted of what would have been considered an electric acoustic guitar or something more along the lines of a classic guitar. Either way, Steven was incredibly impressed with the selection. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Woah.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Afternoon!” The British man behind the desk sat up on the stool greeting his new customer as he walked through the door. Other than when kids came into the store for their first instrument, he didn’t quite think in all of his years if he had seen someone come into the store quite as excited as Steven was at that moment. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Steven found so much comfort in music that it was hard for him to steady his mind with anything else. From writing music to playing music it was the best thing for him mentally, something that he had latched onto from such a young age. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He always wondered if it was something to do with both of his parents and their absolute love for music and everything that surrounded it. His mom was the best when it came to music that millions knew who she was. His father on the other hand was an incredibly talented musician but found his career helping other people pursue their careers. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>That didn’t mean that Greg hadn’t recorded a few albums himself. Although, he wasn’t prepared to ever use his connections to Rose and the Gems to get himself any further in the industry personally. If he was going to use that power, he was going to use it to build up whatever bands that he wanted to manage. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Including Star Destroyers. No matter how much Steven wanted to deny that he didn’t want that. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Steven walked slowly up and down the aisle as he looked up at the guitars on the wall. He wanted to touch every single one. From Gibsons to Martins, there was everything that you could have imagined. From some that were built in America to Mexico.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Looking for anything in particular or are you just having a browse?” The man behind the desk questioned, wanting to know a little more about the customer inside of his store that looked to have been having the time of his life from just the past thirty seconds of being inside of the store. He hadn’t even gotten to the point of being able to try one of the instruments yet and he looked as if he was going to explode. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m not sure. I just...I thought it would be cool to come in. You have everything in here!” Steven continued to look up at the guitars before pointing with a smile as he turned around to acknowledge the man. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well, not everything.” The shop owner shrugged with a smile, wanting to somewhat blush at the comment. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Can I...try some?” Steven asked sheepishly. He knew that anyone could usually try anything in a music store and with his local store he often went there just to try out new guitars and try to stop himself from buying more. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Steven had a bad habit when it came to wanting to buy shiny new instruments, but at the same time found it incredibly difficult to get rid of anything that he previously had. He could never replace any of his guitars. In fact, he had only really had two guitars in the entire time that he had been playing. The acoustic that his father had gotten him when he was younger that he usually took near about everywhere with him. Then, the Telecaster that he used to play shows with. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>When he had played a few acoustic shows in the past he had borrowed one of his dad’s many guitars. However, that wasn’t always a practical solution. Steven would have happily have had as many guitars as the man in L.A. when they had attended that party that one time - but he didn’t have enough room or money to do that! </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Not yet anyway. He could dream! </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>As soon as he got his own house that was bigger than a singular room then he would have filled every single room he had with a type of guitar. He hoped that one day in the future when he got to be with Connie that she wouldn’t mind if he had an abundance of guitars or other musical instruments. He would also love to have a piano like the huge grand piano that used to sit in his old house as a kid. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Of course you can, what would you like to try?” The man questioned as Steven looked over the guitars. It would have been great to have tried every one of them - they were all so pretty!</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Steven pondered on the question as the man stepped around the counter and made his way over to Steven. He stood beside the new American customer and pointed towards one of the guitars that were on the lower level of the wall, easy enough for both of them to reach without stretching too much. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“That one is pretty.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Sounds it too. We just got this one in not too long ago. It’s a lovely model, I have to admit I’ve found myself playing it a few times now. It has such a gorgeous tone to it.” The man spoke softly about one of the many products within his store that he was incredibly passionate about. Steven was happy to hear just about anything about any of the guitars in the store. It was one of his favourite things in the world - why wouldn’t he have wanted to hear everything about it? </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Plus, if he liked it enough he probably would have made an impulsive purchase. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The store owner grabbed the guitar off the wall and handed it over to Steven. Steven held the guitar as he held any other guitar, except this time he felt as if he had been handed something too precious to play. It looked amazing, although he was certainly down to the idea of being able to give it a quick play within the shop. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He plucked away at the guitar. The owner of the shop had seen plenty of people come and go and people playing forbidden riffs on guitars that he certainly had gotten sick of. Except, this time the American man played tunes and riffs that he hadn’t heard of before. Although, he made every pluck sound beautiful. The owner suddenly had a newfound love for the guitar in the customer’s hands. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Wow, you play very well!” The owner complimented. It wasn’t as if he couldn’t play nearly as well, but he certainly hadn’t seen someone walk off the street and play like Steven before. That was talented that he didn’t quite see very often. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Especially when Steven began to pick and play the fretboard too. The tapping wasn’t something that his normal customers could do. It was something that Steven harnessed the power to do with years of practice. The fact he could tap whilst singing was an even greater feat that a lot of people couldn’t ever achieve. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Thanks!” Steven blushed slightly as he continued to play. The guitar was beautiful and even within the first strum, he had fallen in love with the blend of soft tones and mahogany. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Although, in the back of his mind he knew that he had come inside of the guitar store for something different. He wanted to get something to cheer someone up. Sure, he was in a guitar store so he was going to have treated himself too - however, he also wanted to get something for Connie. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He wanted to get something to remind her of one of the first times that they had truly been together alone. A time where Steven believed that was when he had noticed that he was certainly falling for the girl that would have become the love of his life. It hadn’t taken long, but he knew without questioning it too much that she would have been the one. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The one that he wanted to spend the rest of his life with. He always wondered if she thought the same thing - although, perhaps that was tough to tell. It was certainly tough to know when her parents hadn’t even acknowledged him as a person yet. He still hoped that was yet to come and not something that would eventually happen on their wedding day. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Because, yes, one day Steven did want to marry her. However, for now, he was stuck inside of the guitar shop contemplating on whether or not the idea in the back of his head was going to have been a good one. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well, this is really nice and I do really like it - but I came in for a gift for my girlfriend. It’s...our anniversary.” Steven blushed once more. It wasn’t their anniversary. It wasn’t any kind of anniversary, however, there was something else that was significant to Steven and that was the name of the location that they were in. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Birmingham. The same name of the place where he had first kissed her that one night. The night that had changed his entire life for the better. The night that had helped make him who he was today. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh yeah, does she play?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well, a little bit. She mostly just plays on my other guitars. She’s getting pretty good and I thought perhaps I could treat her to her own guitar. I thought it would be nice.” Steven shrugged, seeing his sweet gesture as something that anyone would have loved. It would have been nice for Connie to have been able to play beside him rather than playing at him. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She had been learning a lot from Steven throughout their time together. She even occasionally picked up Max’s guitar and played a few chords to get some kind of practice in. Steven was incredibly impressed with the time that she had poured into trying to play the guitar between studying. It meant a lot to him that she was attempting to learn something that was practically his whole life. Connie wanted to be a part of whatever he wanted to do. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“That does sound pretty nice! You seem to know your way around guitars. Got any ideas?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Uh, well...a few.” Steven smirked, of course he had thought about this far too much. It was going to be an excellent surprise! </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>When Steven happily made his way back to the hotel with his newfound purchase he realised just how good of a gift it was. Using the guitar he would have been able to help Connie practice more and now that she was out of college she would have had more time! From the way that she had watched him time and time again playing the guitar it was a given that she wanted to play just as much as he did. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I thought you didn’t bring your acoustic.” Connie cocked an eyebrow as Steven laid down the guitar bag at the end of the bed. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I didn’t.” He commented as he slowly unzipped the bag and pulled out a guitar. Connie had never seen the guitar before, it looked incredibly shiny and new. It certainly wasn’t the Martin that Steven used to play songs to Connie as she studied. The one he wrote most of his songs on. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>This guitar was different. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“So...what’s that?” Connie pointed towards the guitar that he had just spent far too much money on. It was pretty and it was worth every penny. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“A guitar.” Steven smirked, attempting to creep around her questions.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Did you buy it?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yes...”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It looks...expensive.” Connie didn’t quite know what to say as she sat with her back against the headboard of the bed, Steven sitting beside her with the guitar against his chest. She watched as he tuned it by ear, a skill that she was still incredibly impressed by. He plucked at each of the strings. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It </span>
  <em>
    <span>was </span>
  </em>
  <span>expensive.</span>
  <em>
    <span>” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Steven admitted with nervous laughter, attempting to keep his cool. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh. Are you-”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s fine. I had enough.” Steven smiled as he gently plucked away at the guitar strings before allowing his head to fall back against the headboard as he looked over at Connie. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Connie smiled back at him, he was so adorable. There was nothing he possibly could have done that would have made her remotely mad. He had been in a strange mood since coming to the UK, but it was one that she was starting to get used to. It wasn’t as if she had been herself either. There was so much going on that it was becoming increasingly harder to concentrate on one another. Something that they had wanted to do throughout the trip since the very beginning. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Steven…” Connie groaned with a smile as she listened to his soft melodic tones. He could spend his money however he liked, but Connie was always there to advise him otherwise. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Do you want to play?” Steven questioned as he gently strummed downwards to end his makeshift riff. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m a little rusty.” Connie giggled, it had been a long time since she had played the guitar. Most of the time she had been with Steven teaching her different riffs or chords to some of her favourite songs. Steven was incredibly good at teaching his profession and Connie appreciated every second he put into trying to help her learn. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Steven snorted, of course she was rusty. They hadn’t played together in a while - but this guitar was special. Although she didn’t know it just yet, this guitar was Connie’s. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I can help with that.” Steven smirked as he parted his legs and held open his arms, holding the guitar over the edge of the bed as he gestured for Connie to come and sit in front of him. Connie laughed as she shuffled herself to be in front of Steven as they sat together on the bed. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Connie slowly felt his arms fall around her, the guitar balancing on her lap. She held the guitar as he had taught her time and time again. A part of Connie knew that this was most certainly some kind of excuse to get close to her. Connie could have easily have played the guitar by herself at this point, certainly not to the same extent as Steven - but she knew enough to get through plenty of songs herself. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She gently strummed the guitar, Steven made sure he sat as close behind her as possible. As she played he tucked her hair behind her ear on one side of her head and pushed it back to expose her skin. Steven carefully planted kisses behind her ear and along her neck, causing her to flinch slightly at the small tickles. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“The first time we kissed was in Birmingham.” Steven whispered into her ear as he continued to listen to her improved guitar playing. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We’re in Birmingham right now.” Connie snorted, realising the connection. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“So...isn’t this kind of like our anniversary?” Steven’s hands slid slowly across her stomach as he spoke. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Not...really.” Connie laughed, his incredibly dorky nature was beyond her. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“But, I got you an anniversary gift...” There was slight deflation in his tone as Connie stopped strumming on the guitar and turned to look at him. She couldn’t help but notice how his palms were flat around opposite sides of her stomach, holding her closely. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You did?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah! I thought it was pretty fitting, considering, y’know...I tried teaching you some chords the same night we kissed.” Steven smiled, Connie suddenly realising what he was referring to. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Wait, you got me a guitar?” Connie practically gasped as she held a little tighter onto the instrument. Steven constantly did nice things for her, but no matter what action he took they still shocked Connie.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Do you like it?” Steven avoided the obvious question as he quickly kissed her lips as she showed a shocked expression on her face. She certainly hadn’t expected anything. Anniversary of the first day they kissed? It wasn’t even a year. They were simply in a place with the same name. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s...it’s really pretty, Steven. Thank you.” Connie glanced back down at the guitar, unsure what else she was supposed to say at the gift. She did love it and had always wanted her own guitar. This one certainly felt perfect for her in the hand. Just the right size, somehow Steven knew exactly what she needed. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You’re so pretty.” Steven purred the same words as he did back in Birmingham as he continued his pursuit of kisses against her neck.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Steven…” Connie chuckled in a whisper as he tickled her skin further with kisses. She slowly tilted her head towards him, wanting him to hold her just as he was doing except she wanted to kiss him in return. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Connie gently placed the guitar on the opposite side of the bed, there was going to have been so many opportunities for her to play it. Except now, she wanted to kiss her boyfriend. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Connie turned and kissed him on the cheek before finding his lips. Steven allowed her to take control of the kiss as their lips connected over and over, lovingly losing themselves within one another. Connie twisted her whole body, crawling onto Steven’s lap before connecting their lips once more. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>They had suddenly tangled themselves within each other as Connie shuffled forward on his lap and held onto either side of his face as she deepened the kiss. Steven pulled at the hem of her t-shirt, gently tugging it upwards as to remove it over her head. He reached behind her, having become a seasoned expert of undoing her bra he pinched it together with ease. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Connie continued the kiss, allowing him to put his hands wherever they would both receive the most pleasure. Steven’s fingers travelled up her back as he gently coaxed her bra away from her, not allowing their lips to detach. Connie’s hands immediately fell to the hem of his t-shirt, instantly pulling it upwards and over his head, their lips disconnected for a moment as he pulled off the shirt. They stared at one another for a second before continuing their pursuit of kisses. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>They knew each other far too well to not know what the other person wanted. Connie subconsciously pushed herself against him as she sat on his lap, Steven feeling the urge to buck his hips at the touch. There was so much love between them that it was hard to deny how much they always wanted one another. How much they wanted to connect in a way that couldn’t be done through holding hands. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I love you…” Steven whispered against her skin as he guided her hips with his hands and lovingly nipped at her neck. He listened to her moan in pleasure at his touch, feeling euphoria from getting her to make the sound he loved hearing. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Connie didn’t bother to respond, knowing that her sweet and small whimpers were enough for Steven to know that she loved him back. More than anything or anyone. A part of him wanted to hear it verbally, but the sound of her whines was good enough at that moment. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Having sex with Connie was a million times better than any other sexual encounter he had ever had in his entire life. To say that since he had met Connie she was the only person he had been having sex with was something that a lot of people wouldn’t have expected from him due to his past. That didn’t matter, Steven was incredibly committed and loved her so much that even just the thought of being with anyone else made him sick. He wanted nothing more than to be with Connie. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>At the beginning of their relationship, it was clear that Connie was a little concerned about Steven’s past, but every time she had started to get used to it. That didn’t mean that she didn’t think about it a lot - she did. She thought about it enough that it sometimes still bothered her, but not enough to ever bring it up. Connie knew that Steven wouldn’t have left her for anyone. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Steven smiled on her lips as they both wiggled out of their jeans and found themselves back together almost instantly, this time it was Connie’s turn to take the lead. Steven allowed her to take control of the situation, balancing herself on him and wrapping her hands around the back of his neck. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>They didn’t remove their eyes from one another as they battled through small pants and skin to skin contact that they craved so much. Admittedly, they had last slept together the night before flying to England. They were tired, but it wasn’t as if either of them could have resisted the touch after going quite a while without connecting in that way. They wanted to show as much love as possible to one another all of the time. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>There was an abundance of kisses shared between them both as Steven’s hands remained on the bottom of Connie’s back, looking up at her with starry eyes as she fucked him with love and intent. Steven didn’t mind her confidence one bit, it was incredibly attractive to him. As someone who always had to take the lead in the beginning, Connie’s dominating sexual confidence with him had excelled throughout the year. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The two of them laid side by side, unable to look away from one another as they draped themselves with the covers. Connie brushed her thumb against his eyebrow as she held her hand against the side of his face. They both stared at one another with such loving eyes, sharing a moment of silence as they laid together. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Happy anniversary.” Steven smiled sweetly as Connie laughed at his words. It wasn’t their anniversary in the slightest and yet the sentiment of being in a place with the same name as where they had their first kiss was adorable. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You celebrated our one week anniversary.” Connie snorted, knowing that he was incredibly sentimental. Sometimes he loved to make things special for the sake of it and she certainly wasn’t complaining about it. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Some things are worth celebrating.” Steven grinned, he had just been far too excited about being able to claim that he was in a relationship. Being a boyfriend was one of the best things that had happened to him throughout his life. It was great to have been able to show how much of a hopeless romantic he was to someone happy to accept his romantic gestures. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah...they are.” Connie continued to stroke the side of his face, feeling the palm of her hand against his stubble. She knew that he hadn’t shaved in a day or two and was starting to get a little more prominent. Connie loved it when he hadn’t shaved, the stubble made him look incredibly attractive. More so than usual. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Steven looked at her the same way that he had looked at her time and time again. The way that made her feel so special and loved. He was good at doing that. There was a twinge of a smile before his face dropped slightly, thoughts swimming through his mind.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“This isn’t going to stop once this is over - right?” Steven was suddenly forward with the question, desperately wanting an answer. Connie furrowed her eyebrows, continuing to stroke the side of his face. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What are you talking about?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well, after the tour - we’re going to be in two very different places and well...your parents won’t know about us so it’s going to be a little hard for me to visit.” Steven mentioned, causing Connie to notice how upset he was about her situation with her parents. It hurt her to know that she was so torn in the middle of being able to tell them or not telling them at all. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She really did want to tell them. She couldn’t. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Steven…I-”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“N-no! I didn’t mean it that way.” Steven panicked, worried that she would be mad at his constant digging about her parents. He had every right to be upset about it, but he didn’t want to keep pushing Connie in a way that made it feel as if it was her fault for feeling that way. Her parents certainly didn’t make it easy. “It’s just...I don’t know what’s going to happen. I won’t be able to come and see you in Beach City. It wouldn’t be a secret.” Steven dipped his eyebrows, attempting to get his point across. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We’ll have to figure it out as it comes. Nothing between us is changing.” Connie insisted in a stern tone, desperately wanting Steven to believe her words without any argument. He couldn’t help but be doubtful considering how many times she had said that she was going to tell them only to have been let down. It wasn’t fair on Steven anymore. Time and time again he was let down by the prospect of being let further into his girlfriend’s life. She had to open up to them. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What if it does?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We’ve done long distance before. For a long time, in fact.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“That’s not the same. I could still come and see you.” Steven argued slightly, feeling hurt by her words. Why was it so easy to justify her not telling her parents? She was old enough to make her own decisions. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>As much as he sympathised with her situation and the anxiety that she faced - it had certainly gone on for far too long. They had nearly been in a committed relationship for a whole year and Connie’s parents had no idea that he even existed. Sure, they had briefly met him at her graduation, but that wasn’t how he wanted to meet them. He wanted to be introduced as her boyfriend and not some estranged friend that she met on a trip the year before. He was so much more than that and he deserved to be recognised for it. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Steven’s heart ached every single time that her parents called her whilst he was in the same room, knowing that she could have easily have told them at any moment, but chose not to. The worst part was the number of times that they had called her and offered her potential suitors whilst Steven was sat beside her. Connie continued to pester them about how she didn’t want to be set up on any dates and that she was incredibly busy with college, but now that college was over she didn’t quite have an excuse to not start dating when her parents set her up with some fancy man with a business degree. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Once she returned home would her parents force her out on dates with people when Steven wasn’t around? He didn’t want to sound possessive, but he wouldn’t have been happy with that. Not one bit. Connie was his girlfriend and he wasn’t willing to share that with some man who owned more than one tie and knew how to loop it around without a TubeTube tutorial. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He had every right to be upset about something like that - Connie was </span>
  <em>
    <span>his </span>
  </em>
  <span>girlfriend!</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We’ll figure something out. We always do.” Connie smiled as she brushed her thumb against his cheek. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It was easy to figure out. All she needed to do was to tell her parents about her relationship. It wouldn’t have solved everything - but it certainly would have been a start! </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah...you’re right.” Steven sighed, still feeling completely deflated by the denial that he was granted. He didn’t want to be in the headspace where he thought he wasn’t good enough again and yet that was all he could think about. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She had told him multiple times that he was good enough for her. More than good enough! Although, with Connie not telling her parents it made him continue to think that he wasn’t good enough. Perhaps she was ashamed of him? Ashamed of him and his career? All he wanted was love and music. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Not only was Steven’s thoughts with the future he held with Connie, but there was so much in his head that continued to remind him of his past. From the fact that Pearl was still touring the UK at the same time that he was to the fact that he was in a position where he couldn’t stop thinking about the horrible things that he had experienced throughout his life. He didn’t deserve any of it and as soon as something good came along he couldn’t help but feel as if it was about to fall through. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>As Steven stood up on the stage that night he looked down at the crowd and thought about every one of the people within that building. If Steven had that much going on in his mind all at once, he wondered how much other people had going on that was plaguing them every day. He was so busy concentrating on what was going on in his mind that he missed a section of a song, which he usually knew off by heart. He hoped that nobody but the band had noticed. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Technical difficulties happen, but it wasn’t like Steven to forget or miss any part of any song. He cocked his eyebrow on stage as he attempted to get back into Sour Cream’s beat behind him. It didn’t take him long to recover from the mistake, but it threw him off enough to concern him. If his thoughts were starting to affect his work, then everything within his mind was becoming a lot more serious. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Steven didn’t talk about the mistake. The band didn’t even bring it up. They had their fun and made their way back to the hotel room. Connie spent a little more time staring down at the strings of the new guitar that Steven had brought her, it was such a wonderful gift, but it did make her worry a lot.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Connie sat beside him in the bed, carefully plucking away at each of the strings. She was nowhere near as fast as Steven and she probably never would be, but that was okay. It would have been nice to have picked up a hobby now that she was out of college. Another thing to fill her time when she was sad and unemployed. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Steven sat with his knees tucked upwards as he scribbled into a page of the new notebook that Connie had gotten him the day before. He had already filled up a couple of pages with new lyrics that he was bound to use in the future. Lyrics that were written in a way to allow his mind to breathe. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It made Connie incredibly happy to know that Steven was using the book that she had gotten him. It was clear he was already filling up each of the pages with thoughtful notes that meant a lot to him. She wondered whether or not any of the lyrics that were spilling out of his head would ever end up in any kind of song. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Connie didn’t think that she would have been any good at writing songs like Steven was. Perhaps she would have been if it meant that she got to play on her new guitar. She looked over at Steven who was continuing to write before he gradually looked up in front of him, contemplating on what to write next. She kept her attention on the guitar in front of her before carefully strumming once again. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Steven kept thinking about the best way to get his thoughts down as he tapped the pen against the page before suddenly announcing his departure. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I need to pee.” He announced as if that was the only thing that suddenly mattered. Connie snorted slightly at the comment as he placed the notebook down on the bed in front of him and swung his legs to the side to get out and go to the bathroom. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It was nice spending the evening after the show relaxing with Steven. They both knew that they should have gone to bed pretty much straight after they had gotten back, but they both enjoyed spending a short time relaxing together. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She didn't want to be the one to tell him, but he had forgotten the toothpaste he claimed he was going to buy.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Connie looked down at the open book that was beside her, the notes that Steven had been writing were somewhat chaotic on the page. Steven had pretty neat handwriting and yet how he scribbled down his thoughts to write lyrics was incredibly different from how he usually curled his letters. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>There was a sense of curiosity in her mind as she glanced over at the book, noticing the words on the page and slowly dragging it towards her. It wasn’t as if the book wasn’t already open and he was probably going to have shown her what he was writing anyway. They would have been songs eventually and at some point, he was going to have played them to her. She was excited to see what kind of lyrics he was writing down in the book that she had gotten him. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>As she read through a few of the lines her heart dropped. She knew that Steven often used his writing as a way of venting his problems. A way of getting what was on his chest down on a piece of paper. He must not have thought anything of it when he left the notebook wide open as he went to the bathroom, he never had anything to hide from Connie so keeping the book a secret wouldn’t have been an issue. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>However, it seemed as if the page was littered with metaphors that she knew were about her not telling her parents about their relationship. Not only that - but there was so much about people leaving him. The fear of being alone. The fear of nobody wanting to love him the way that he wanted to love them. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Her heart ached at the thought. After the lovely day that they had together and the time that they had spent after he had gotten her the gift were things that he usually would have only done if he was in a good mood. It irked her slightly to know that he was still feeling that way. He was still feeling all of the things that made him uncomfortable. The things that continued to haunt him every single day. He wanted an escape and the notebook that Connie had gotten him was just that.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He was still so worried about everything but continued to hold it in. Unable to vent in any way other than writing it down on a page so that it was eventually some kind of song that he could shout in front of a crowd. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Connie pushed the notebook away from her as she heard the toilet flush and the sink turn on. She stared back down at the guitar and began to pluck away, not wanting to raise any suspicion that she had been looking through his open page. He didn’t need to know that she had seen what he had been writing about. It wasn’t the kind of upbeat lyrics that he had been writing about on the last album, this seemed a lot more moody.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Connie chewed her bottom lip at the thought. All she wanted was for Steven to have been as happy as he could have been and after spending the day together she truly thought that he had suppressed a lot of the thoughts inside of his mind to a place that made him feel a bit better about everything. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>That didn’t seem to have been the case. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Steven was just as sad as he was at the start of the tour, if not - more. </span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Ily Star.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. Bristol</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Steven's suddenly faced with his biggest challenge yet. </p><p>His past.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Connie kept quiet throughout the day, not ever having the confidence to bring up the harsh lyrics that she had seen inside of the notebook the previous evening. It hurt her to know that underneath Steven’s sweet smiles he was still aching in a lot of mental pain that he couldn’t seem to rid himself of. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She never wanted to say too much on the subject, especially when it was clear he didn't want to speak about it. Just like Connie, Steven spent a lot of time stewing on the things that hurt him the most. They always felt as if they could speak to one another and yet in that moment and throughout their entire trip it felt as if they had been keeping their true feelings hidden to protect the other. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Admittedly, Steven hadn't been shy in showing his feelings about Connie's parents. A part of him couldn't understand why Connie hadn't done everything in her power to rectify the mistake that she had made. Surely if she cared she would want to do anything and everything she could to make sure that they knew about him. To make sure that she could secure a future beyond the UK tour. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Except, it wasn't that easy. Things were so much more complicated than that. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Things were about to get more complicated. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The band spent the day travelling down to Bristol before visiting a museum that half of them couldn't pronounce the name of. Once again, Max was pretty interested and Connie was pretty certain she hadn't filled her quota of sending images to her parents just yet - she needed more. Needing more photographs just helped with keeping up with her lies that if she were to ever admit would see her whole world falling through.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Steven understood that and yet he continued to push on the subject. As much as the idea of Pearl showing up at one of his concerts irked him, he was more worried about never being a part of Connie's future. After the tour - it would have all been over. Steven would have to lead his sad existence once again. He would never recover from losing someone as important to him as Connie. He had already done that once before. Losing people sucked. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Despite everything, Steven and Connie still went about their everyday business. From holding hands to the occasional kiss - it was as if nothing was going on in the back of their minds. Things other people couldn't and wouldn't understand would hammer their thoughts and yet they didn't feel as if they could speak to anyone about it. Not even each other. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>One gas station sandwich later and a day that was filled with numb feelings, it was finally time for them to head over to their show for the night. It was only when they arrived in the evening that they had realised quite how mundane their day had been. It wasn't the same as the other days when there always felt as if something was going on. This was different. This was quiet. Too quiet. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Steven strummed on his guitar and shouted into the microphone as he did every night. This time, Connie thought carefully about all of the lyrics that he sang, knowing that there were quite a few songs about her. The lyrics always made her question their relationship, despite everything he had written about her being positive. He glanced around the crowd, noticing that during the evening there was a lack of Connie in the crowd. This time, she was standing at the side of the stage, supporting him as always. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>This evening was different from the rest. Different in the sense of Steven finally coming to terms with his fears. Not all of them, but at least one of his very logical and frightening fears that he had been thinking about for a while now. Perhaps even longer than the tour, but he hadn't expected that to trigger him. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I really like your new album. Your music means so much to me, it's helped me through a lot! Thank you so much. Can I...get a picture with you?" A nervous young girl questioned as she pointed to her phone, the camera app already open and pointing behind her into darkness. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Steven stood beside the merch table with a smile. He enjoyed meeting fans at shows, it was a moderated environment which meant that he wouldn't have been disturbed by the general public throughout his everyday life. Including dates. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, of course!” Steven smiled through his painful internal thoughts. No matter how he was feeling on the inside, he would have taken the time to speak to someone who enjoyed his music. He knew that there were music artists that he enjoyed that perhaps he would have felt the same way about if he truly dug deeper into his appreciation for the music. People who inspired him. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The girl was a little nervous as she approached Steven. He had gotten used to people being both anxious and confident around him. It was a strange contrast to think about, but either way, he was happy to love them back with the affection that they required. In his past life, perhaps a little more affection than taking a photograph with them. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Steven smiled as she snapped the photo, holding the phone in front of them both and rapidly pressing the camera shutter. It was likely that he would have been tagged in the image later on his social media page. He occasionally looked back, hoping to remember every fan encounter that he had. He appreciated it when people enjoyed his music and told him about it too. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>It wasn’t in the sense that it may have inflated his ego, but it certainly made him feel good about himself. It was nice to have someone tell him that he was doing good. Although he had plenty of positive reinforcement around him, it was nice to have heard that from a stranger. Someone who only knew him through his harsh lyrics and musical tones. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Thank you so much!” The girl grinned widely up at Steven, she must have been in her early twenties - probably around the same age that he was. He was glad that he could have been a good role model for people his age, younger and older. The older fans were mostly people who knew who he was through his mother’s band. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The Gems. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No problem. Take care!” Steven waved with a small smile, watching the girl smile back and begin to flick through her phone to look at the pictures that she had taken. They would most certainly end up on social media within the hour - but he didn’t mind. It was one of the many that he had taken that night, minus the number of people with their phones in the air during the show. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Steven placed his hands on his hips as he watched his last fan disappear. She had been waiting a while to see him and it was nice to have gotten to the end of his mini meet and greet. He tried to do it every show that he went to, but most of the time he was distracted by band business, Connie or himself. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"That was a really good show, Steven." A woman with an afro suddenly towered over Steven, he spun on his heel and glanced up - instantly recognising the tone in her voice and the look on her face covered by a pair of sunglasses. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Steven's stomach dropped. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Garnet?" He swallowed hard, a part of his quivering at the unexpected visitor at his show. He had been expecting Pearl the whole time and yet Garnet was standing before him. One of the old members of The Gems. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"It's good to hear you play." Garnet nodded, deadpan in her expression. She noticed how much the boy had grown since the last time she had seen him. He was a man now and it certainly showed. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"It's good to...have you hear me play?" Steven chuckled nervously as he scratched the back of his sweaty neck. He was incredibly warm, warmer than he was underneath the lights on the stage. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Your first time in the UK must be fun." </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"It's um... there's lots to do!" Steven had no idea what to say to the woman who had helped raise him as a child around his mother's death. One of the only people who had seen the demise of Rose Quartz.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Garnet felt only pain for Steven's situation and treasured him dearly. A part of her feeling terrible for neglecting her past enough to find herself also avoiding Steven. She was ashamed, to say the least. He was and always would be part of her family. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>When Steven was younger, Garnet had decided to move to England to get away from it all. There was no need or desire for her to stay in America with people bombarding her constantly about her co-worker's death. There was no need to put up with the mentally exhausting feat that was dealing with that day in and day out. Nobody deserved to live like that. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>So, Garnet took her millions that she had made from all of their records and moved far far away back home. Far enough in the British countryside that she could nurture a green thumb. She didn't mind being buried away in the middle of nowhere alone. It was peaceful after years of being in the spotlight. She didn't need as much constant validation as Pearl did. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, you’re right. It </span>
  <em>
    <span>is</span>
  </em>
  <span> fun here.” Garnet smiled before adjusting the sunglasses that sat on her face. Just like Buck, she seemed to enjoy wearing them inside. It was mostly to hide her sheer exhaustion of the life that she once led when she was younger and to stop people from recognising her quite as much. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sooooooooo….” Steven’s expression dropped as he pushed his hands together and began to rock on his heels. He had no idea what to say to the person who had been out of his life for such a long time. There was nothing he could have said to have made the conversation any less awkward. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hmmm.” Garnet nodded, creating an atmosphere between them that pained to have existed. He wanted to bury himself in a hole and never come out. The last time he had seen Garnet he had been a teenager.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What happens now? Do we get coffee? Is that what...fam-, people do?” Steven laughed nervously as he cut off his own words. Family? Was that what he would have called Garnet? </span>
</p><p>
  <span>At least, that’s what he had always been raised to consider them. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Especially when his Mom was around. She always referred to them as his aunts and he still remembered it vividly. He remembered being on the set of a music video shoot as a young boy, sitting on Garnet’s lap as the rest of them filmed their sections of the video. He remembered on the same day being able to play the drums with Amethyst and playing a short game of hide and seek with Pearl. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>In the end, he featured in the music video. A young boy between the age of four and five dancing along and hitting a tambourine to a song that went onto being one of The Gems’ hit singles. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We can get coffee. Now would be fine.” Garnet nodded once more, confirming that it was fine for both of them to have gone out and found some kind of coffee place to spend the next hour or so catching up. Steven was terrified. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Alrighty. Wow. Okay, cool! I’m going to go and tell everyone I’ll meet them back at the hotel. Right?” Steven couldn’t help sounding as nervous as he truly was. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Right. Sounds good.” Garnet smiled, noticing his nerves. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Steven spun on his heel and sweated intensely as he made his way back to the band. He certainly didn't expect Garnet to show up! If anyone was going to show up and bother him he would have thought it was Pearl. There was no way that he could have gotten it so wrong that it was Garnet instead. He hadn’t expected that one. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He clenched his fists together as he made his way back through the stage to the room in the back where everyone else was sitting comfortably awaiting their cue to head back to the hotel from Steven or Max after she had finished selling everything that she needed to. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Woah, Steven - you look like you’ve seen a ghost!” Jenny commented as she removed her eyes from her phone as Steven came through the door with a pale expression. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What kind of ghost? Was it friendly?” Sour Cream asked without realising the severity of the situation. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Garnet! Garnet is here!” Steven’s heart pumped a little faster than he wanted to admit as he held onto the doorframe. Everyone inside of the room looked up at him in shock, a little perplexed by the situation. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Garnet? Garnet from The Gems?” Buck’s jaw unhinged at the idea that someone like Garnet would have been at their show. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah! There’s only </span>
  <em>
    <span>one</span>
  </em>
  <span> Garnet!” Steven wiped his brow as he nervously bounced on the spot, unsure of what he would have to do when he went out for coffee. Was there a plan? It was already so late at night! What could they have possibly spoken about? </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Steven, I’m sure it’ll be okay!” Connie attempted to input, as much as she knew about his relationship with the rest of his mother’s old band, she certainly didn’t know it as well as the rest of Star Destroyers who had practically known him since he was a teenager. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s- She wants to have coffee with me, right now! I need to go and do that. What do I say? Woah, this is a lot! Is the room spinning for anyone else?” Steven ran his fingers through his sweaty hair as Connie immediately stood up, the rest of the band on standby waiting and watching to see if their friend needed them. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s okay! It’s only coffee, I’m sure she just wants to catch up.” Connie gripped gently onto Steven’s shoulder, he was incredibly tense. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But what if-” Steven’s mind began to spiral. What if? What if </span>
  <em>
    <span>what</span>
  </em>
  <span>? He couldn’t quite think of a bad thing that would have come out of going to see Garnet for a while. Perhaps there could have been some judgement? He wasn’t exactly a fan of being judged by people who didn’t know his full story - but Garnet was pretty in the loop with it all. At least, that’s what he thought. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Maybe she just wanted to catch up with him because she cared about him? She wasn’t like Pearl and she wasn’t like Amethyst. Garnet had always been the happy medium that brought them all together and made sure that it stayed that way. Except, it had been a long time since she had assumed that role. Things weren't quite what they used to be. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Do you want me to come with you?” Connie offered, being incredibly sweet. Steven stared down at his shoes, desperately wanting to say yes but knowing that he couldn’t ask that of her. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“N-no, it’s okay.” Steven half-smiled, incredibly lucky to have someone as willing as Connie in his life. She was willing to support him no matter what it was. It was nice to have that person when you needed it. Steven was certainly coming to terms with needing that kind of person a lot more in his life recently.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay, but you know that we’re all just a phone call away.” Connie knew when Steven needed his space and was willing to give it to him whenever he requested. As much as Steven enjoyed being with her, she knew that he valued his own time a lot too. He needed to go and see Garnet - perhaps it would have made him feel better about each of the situations he had been put in?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s going to be fine, Dude. You got this!” Sour Cream shouted over his words of encouragement. Of course, it was going to have been fine - it was Garnet. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>It wasn’t as if he was meeting with someone that he didn’t know or someone that was going to hurt him - that would have been insane and certainly something to worry about. Steven had nothing to worry about. It was Garnet, it wasn’t even as if it was Pearl who terrified him slightly more than everyone else. Garnet was intimidating in a different way to Pearl.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay. Yeah! It’s...it’s fine!” Steven clenched his fist together once more and placed them either side of himself. He wanted to face his fears and go and speak to the woman who he hasn't faced in years. Perhaps speaking to her would have eased his anxiety about the situation as a whole? Helping prevent his anxiety about Pearl would have been fantastic. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Good luck! I’ll see you later tonight.” Connie patted his chest before kissing him quickly on the cheek. Steven blushed slightly at the gesture, wanting nothing more than to hug her and melt into nothingness together so they wouldn’t have to face the real world. Steven was totally into that idea, he wasn’t quite sure if Connie was too though. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Steven nodded confidently as he exited the room and made his way back down towards the stage. There was a slight shake in his hand from the nerves that he felt along with the pit of dread at the bottom of his stomach. Should he have called his dad? Would that have made things better? Everything was happening too fast. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>As he stepped past the stage he noticed that Garnet was stood over by the merchandise stand near Max. Steven walked back over to Garnet, tugging nervously on his flannel shirt. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So, ready to get that coffee?” Steven chuckled nervously as he stood in front of Garnet, awaiting an answer. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Woah! Steven! What are you up to?” Max yelled from across the merch table and over the music that was playing around them. Steven glanced over at her and smiled, why was it that Max had to ask him something now? He was very busy with his rampant mind. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“One second.” Steven smiled at Garnet who was being incredibly silent with her arms folded, but with a small smirk on her lips. Steven was just as she remembered him, except a lot more grown-up and mature. He wasn’t the same little boy who used to play the guitar with her or cry into her chest when he lost his mother. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Steven scurried over to the merch stand and awaited some kind of question from Max, she was bound to repeat herself. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yo, who’s that? She’s hella familiar.” Max questioned as she leant across the merch table and subtly pointed over towards Garnet. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That? Oh, it’s Garnet!” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Garnet? Like...from...The Gems?” Max cocked an eyebrow before gently leaning to her right to see past Steven and stare at the ex-pop singer. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah…” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Holy shit. That’s...she’s a </span>
  <em>
    <span>legend</span>
  </em>
  <span>!” Max bit down on her bottom lip, trying her hardest not to sound like all of the other people in Steven’s life who had little respect for his privacy. Garnet probably got it a lot too, she was lucky that the venue only really held drunk emo kids. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Y-yeah, she is. So, I’m going to go and have coffee with her now and face a few of my current anxieties.” Steven gulped at the thought. Max stood staring at him for a moment before holding her hand out with a flat palm. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’ve got this, bro.” Max nodded in a supportive tone.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Thanks.” Steven smiled as he hit his flat palm again Max’s hand to complete the high-five before also nodding. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Steven took a deep breath and straightened the front of his pink flannel before turning around and making his way back to Garnet. The two of them walked out of the venue and made their way to the only coffee shop on the street that was open all day long. They walked in silence, which was incredibly awkward for Steven. If walking to get the coffee was this awkward then what would being sat down and drinking a beverage together be like? </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Garnet was the first to order and Steven made an order that was very similar to not come off as bizarre in his choices. Garnet didn’t hesitate to pay, Steven not even managing to get his debit card out of his pocket before she had covered the bill. They both went and sat down before awaiting the coffees, the only other customers in the store were busy commuters and people who were recovering from a night out before going out for a second round. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So, this is nice…” Steven commented as he held onto either side of the coffee cup. He hoped that by doing so, Garnet wouldn’t have been able to see his hands shaking slightly under his nerves. His leg began to bounce instead. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah - it is.” Garnet nodded, not bothering to touch her coffee just yet. “I thought I’d come and see your show as I noticed you were in town.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I-I’m glad. You liked the show, right?” Steven suddenly attempted to receive some kind of approval from one of the many parental figures that he had when he was a child. Most of Steven’s validation came from his father, but it would have been good to receive it from someone else for once. He missed his mother telling him how proud she was. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You play incredibly well, Steven. You have a lot of musical talent.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Thanks. I uh...I was taught by the best.” Steven nervously chuckled at his comment. As much as he wanted to try and avoid a conversation topic about his past, he knew that there was no way that he could have avoided it. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Steven stared down at the top of the coffee. He wished it had some answers. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Pearl is touring at the same time as you.” Garnet brought up the conversation topic that Steven wasn’t quite sure whether or not he wanted to cover. Just the thought of Pearl touring the same time had gotten to him more than he would have liked to have admitted. He had taken the past few days to get used to the idea of her being around. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>There was an incredibly slim chance that Pearl would have even come to see him, but the chances were that the only interaction that they would have would be similar to the one he was currently experiencing with Garnet. It wouldn’t have been bad - at least he hoped that it wouldn’t. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>His feelings when it came to the Gems were complicated. It didn’t matter when or where - he always seemed to relate them to his mother’s death and everything around them. It had been an incredibly tough time for everyone who was closely related to her and even members of the public coped with her death in strange ways. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I know...I...I didn’t know how to feel about it.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You don’t have to feel anything if you don’t want to.” Garnet added to the conversation.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What do you mean?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It can be hard for us to get to a place where we all feel comfortable. You’re allowed to not want to see any of us if it makes you upset - we understand. We went through the same thing when everything happened. It can take a lot of time and each of us completely understands why it might take you longer. Things don’t always get better, they mostly just become different and that’s...okay.” Garnet nodded across the table towards Steven, giving him words that he felt like he should have heard years and years ago. He was upset that nobody had said anything sooner. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Steven pondered on her words. They seemed so thoughtful and wise as if they were words that had been brewing within her for a long time. Words that she needed to say to him more than anything. It was true to think about, Steven had thought of so many things to say to each of them over the years without them in his life and yet at that moment when Garnet was in front of him, it felt as if he had nothing useful to say. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I...understand.” Steven sighed, running his fingers through his hair slowly. He still felt sweaty from the show, he needed a shower. The fear at the pit of his stomach and the sweat beading at his hairline didn’t help one bit. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Steven enjoyed being around The Gems when he was younger. They were fun to be around and his mother certainly made all of their interactions fun. Steven had been on a few tours of the USA before he had even reached the age of five. By that point, he had already spent the vast majority of his life being dragged from state to state as his mother sang song after song in front of an adoring crowd. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Are you having fun, Steven?” The woman with large curly pink hair knelt in front of Steven and held out her hand as the young boy nodded. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah! Amethyst is letting me use her drums when you practice. I’m going to hit the cymbals </span>
  <em>
    <span>sooooooooo</span>
  </em>
  <span> hard!” Steven excitedly bounced on his heels as he looked up at his mother with stars in his eyes, the huge venue surrounding them as they stood upon the stage together, plenty of people walking around them as they attempted to set up the large show. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I can’t wait to hear it.” Rose smiled down at him before gently running her thumb against his cheek, seeing just how excited he was becoming from just the thought of being able to hit the drum kit that was set in front of the thousands of empty seats that surrounded them in the arena. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Steven couldn’t quite wait around for his mother’s permission to leave her side, he was usually free to do whatever he wished before practice and throughout. Most of the time he joined them all on stage and pretended that he too was singing in front of thousands. He thought the idea of fame was pretty cool - his mom was a star! Everyone loved her!</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Steven had sat through more soundchecks than he could imagine, sometimes being a big help and other times just getting in the way and frustrating them all without them wanting to say anything. He looked like he was having fun and that was all that mattered to them. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The young boy ran across the stage, making sure not to bump into any of the roadies or trip on any of the wires that they were yet to tape down. It was all part of the fun - like an obstacle course! He continued to run until he suddenly came to a halt, running directly into someone’s legs. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Steven! You should be more careful. You know it can be dangerous!” Pearl scowled in a concerned tone rather than one of aggression. She had told him time and time again not to run on the stage when everyone was still working. She didn’t want him to get hurt, it was bad enough that Rose even let him on the stage whilst they were setting up. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sorry, Pearl…” Steven stepped backwards, pouting slightly at his actions before poking his two index fingers together. “I won’t do it again.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, you’d better not. Just...be careful!” Pearl reiterated her concern before placing her hand on the young boy’s shoulder. He was no older than seven years old and she loved him beyond belief. Perhaps just as much as his biological parents.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okie dokie!” Steven giggled before nodding and happily walking past Pearl before picking it back to a jog as he cleared himself from her sight. He was waiting for her to turn back around and shout at him for running, but it never came. Thankfully. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yo, little Steven! Ready to play the drums for me?” Amethyst shouted as Steven stopped in his tracks once more, looking over towards the much shorter woman who was wearing an outfit of a similar theme to both Pearl and his mom. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah! Can I use your shiny sticks?” Steven skipped over to her, anxiously awaiting an answer. He pointed behind her to the pot of drumsticks that was sat on a large black transport case - he only assumed that it contained her drums. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hell- I mean, heck yeah, little man!” Amethyst grabbed two of the silver drum sticks out from behind her and held them out for Steven to grab. As Steven went to hold them she quickly swiped the sticks away. “On one condition, you have to do this!” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Amethyst teased as she spun both of the sticks around her fingers at once before holding them both out for Steven. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No fair! You know I can’t do that!” Steven groaned. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You can always give it a go!” Amethyst insisted as she held out the sticks further, forcing him to take them. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Steven stuck his tongue out the side of his mouth for concentration purposes as he held the sticks either side of him, preparing himself to twist them around his fingers. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath before pushing both of his thumbs against the sticks - immediately dropping them to the floor. The sticks bounced as Amethyst couldn’t help herself but laugh as she picked them up off the ground. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Don't worry, man. You’ll get it one day.” Amethyst patted him on the head as he chewed his bottom lip in frustration. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hmph.” The young boy folded over his arms and sighed heavily. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Don’t get down, you’ll have a solo in this show before you know it. I just need to keep convincing Pearl that a drum solo would mean our show would have the uniqueness that we need. Got to keep them coming, y’know?” Amethyst nodded towards Steven, he was a little confused by her words but he continued to allow her to speak. He didn’t want to question too much. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>What he did hear though was that Amethyst was still considering getting him up on stage throughout a show so that he could show off his sick moves on the drums. He was getting better and better every single day, his extensive knowledge of different instruments was beginning to build. He already knew how to play the ukulele and knew a lot about the piano and guitar. He was expanding his abilities by getting Amethyst to teach him the drums whenever she was free. It was a shame he often struggled to reach the pedals - even with the stool lowered. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He did have a smaller kit back at home. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I want to play drums.” Steven smiled, a little unsure how else to add onto the conversation. He whacked the sticks in the air as he mimicked his drum playing.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, I know…” Amethyst smirked back before nodding towards him, noticing he was still holding onto the drum sticks. He grinned at her before deciding to make his way past her so he could continue his pursuit through the huge venue. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>They had never played in the venue before - well, at least not since Steven was born or what he could remember. They may have done so years ago. There was no telling with The Gems, they had played in plenty of venues both big and small. It was hard to avoid them, no matter where you went one of their songs would probably have been playing. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Steven made his way through the back of the venue, walking past quite a lot of strangers who stared down at him in confusion. Why was there a kid there? There was a lot of dangerous equipment and he certainly shouldn’t have been running past them or avoiding their legs as he made it his mission to find who he was looking for. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He happily tapped the sticks in the air as he walked, wanting nothing more than to have done what Amethyst said he could have done. It would have been insanely cool to have been able to play the drums in front of all of those people. Soon! He would have to keep practising. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The idea of playing in front of that many people was nerve-wracking, but he had played in front of a crowd before! Well, if a crowd meant that after a show, well past his bedtime he had played up on stage in front of his mother, father and the rest of the gems. There were a few members of the bar staff at the venue who had heard him play to them as well! He was practically a rockstar at that point. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Steven...I bet you’re excited about the show.” Garnet immediately stopped him in the corridor as he slowed his jog to a paced walk. He continued to hit the sticks gently in the air, making drum noises with his lips. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I am! Amethyst said that soon I’ll be able to drum for you guys. Buh dum tsss!” Steven grinned as Garnet touched his fluffy black hair and scruffed it slightly. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s brilliant. I can’t wait to have you as our drummer.” Garnet smiled, gently taking her hand away from the top of Steven’s head and folding over her arms. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, Amethyst will still be there. You guys wouldn’t be complete without you all. I’m not a Gem!” Steven defended Amethyst’s spot within the band. He didn’t believe that the band would have been anything without each of them. They each had an incredibly important role to play - one that even Steven couldn’t have been a part of if they ever needed him to. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Garnet knelt in front of him and placed her finger on the tip of his nose. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’ll always be a Gem, Steven.” Garnet smiled as Steven hugged the drumsticks. He chuckled slightly at the touch - he loved it when Garnet bopped his nose. It was something he knew he needed to grow out of soon, but he didn’t think he would. That was okay. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Thanks, Garnet.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Garnet stood up and watched as Steven stepped past her and continued his pursuit of finding who it was that he was looking for. It was annoying to know that his father was mostly buried somewhere in the back of a confusing venue sorting things out for the band. It was incredibly stressful for someone like Greg Universe to have managed a band as large as The Gems. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Greg didn’t quite have any prior experience at managing any kind of band, other than being a roadie and understanding the ins and outs of different kinds of equipment. His ability to run and manage a band was beyond him - however, he learnt everything that he needed to learn to follow his dreams. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He didn’t quite always know what he was doing, but that was what came with being a manager. He had been doing it for a long time now since the love of his life, Rose Quartz had requested it. He had wanted to do it since he first became a roadie for them, but that didn’t mean he could. Well, less so than he could now that he had been doing it for years.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Steven hadn’t been to the venue before, but a lot of the time the backs of the venues were incredibly similar to one another. Mostly in the sense that they were the same kind of confusing mazes that led down from the stage - especially in the much larger venues. Luckily, it didn’t take him long to run into his father. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Dad!” Steven shouted down the corridor, immediately beelining for his father with open arms as he hugged Greg’s legs. Greg was currently on the phone but smiled down at Steven as he received the kind hug. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Woah! Alright, I’m going to go now. Thanks for your call, I’ll consider it. No. Okay. Alright, bye.” Greg spoke on the interesting looking flip phone before finishing the call and folding the phone in half and pushing it into his back pocket. He looked down at his son who was hugging him tightly. “What’s up, kiddo?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Amethyst is going to let me drum during soundcheck!” Steven excitedly told his dad, something that he had wanted to shout out loud for a while. He was just far too excited to have kept it in. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Is she? That sounds like fun, I wouldn’t want to miss that.” Greg smirked, seeing just how happy his son was with the improvement he had made on the instrument. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Admittedly, Steven spent a lot of his time at home in the music room that they had. Sure, Rose spent a lot of time there trying to perfect her songs and her singing and Greg enjoyed being in there to mix music and play his own. Steven loved being in there with them and always enjoyed playing the different instruments. There was a drum kit in there too! </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Drums were the loudest instrument and that was super fun! </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You have to come and see!” Steven gripped onto his father’s hand as he pulled him slightly, unable to even make his father move. Greg chuckled as the small boy pulled on his fingers. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’d love to, bud - it’s just...I have a lot of work to get done before the show. It’s important.” Greg gave Steven a sad expression, genuinely unhappy that he had to work instead of seeing his son play the drums on the large stage. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Steven pulled away from his dad slowly, placing both of his hands on the drumsticks and holding them with a look of anticipation. He wasn’t quite sure how he would have felt if he had to drum without his dad there. His dad had been teaching him a lot about them when Amethyst wasn’t around. It was rubbish that his dad always had to work - especially when they were at a show. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>As much as nobody wanted to admit it, Steven always became the last thing on their mind whenever they were going to play a show. There was so much more for them to worry about. Well, at least the things that were in the front of their mind. Steven knew how to entertain and look after himself, as long as they kept an eye on him there shouldn’t have been a problem. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Steven watched as his father disappeared into the back of the venue, leaving him to his own devices once again. Steven stared down at the drumsticks. It was going to be super cool to get to play on the drums, especially in an empty venue that was going to have thousands of people inside of it within the next couple of hours. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>It wasn’t the first time that Steven had felt a little left out. His lifestyle wasn’t the same as that of a ‘normal’ kid. He had never attended school and had a mother in a super famous pop band. It was a strange life to lead and one that even Greg didn’t ever imagine his son would have to be subjected to. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>It was during that evening that Steven got to play the drums on the stage - eventually. Every member of The Gems gathered around and listened to him play. It was nice of them all to take five minutes out of their sound practice to listen to him playing the drums after he had spent so long practising. Amethyst had to make sure to adjust the stool so that he could reach the floor - but other than that, he was killing it. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>It was important for Steven to get the validation he got from being up in front of everyone in his family. He imagined what his mother may have felt like being up in front of a huge crowd. He wondered what it was like to have all of those eyes on him at all times. He had been on the side of the stage at quite a few of his mother’s shows, but he was sure there was no better feeling than being the one to perform. It was amazing to have so many people that respected and loved their work. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Steven wanted to be in front of the crowd one day. Roaring fans that stretched for miles as they sang along to every one of the lyrics that he created. It was going to be fantastic and Steven couldn’t wait to grow up and be a rockstar! </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He often played instruments in his house, practising every day to make sure that he got the most out of the talents that he refused to keep within himself. Pearl often made sure that he worked on getting his singing voice to a point where he could vocalise. A young Steven even managed to feature on the backing track of one of the most popular Gems songs. Unless you dug deep on the internet it wouldn’t have been so obvious at first. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>However, Greg often carried Steven in from the car once they got back home, placing him gently inside of his bed and making sure to tuck him in tightly. Luckily, the show that they had that evening was incredibly local. Local in the sense of being within an hour’s drive of their house meaning that they wouldn’t have to spend the night in a hotel. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Greg often wondered what the point of having a huge house was when they spent most of their time in hotel rooms. It was worth it in the end, it was nice for Steven to have a home base and somewhere for him to grow up. Sometimes - he didn’t go on tour with them. There were a few occasions where he had a sitter to look after him for a few days whilst his parents were away. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>His parents were always busy. If they weren’t busy with music they were busy with their relationships and the struggles that happened behind the scenes. The thing that Steven couldn’t see as a child were the things that ended up hurting him the most in the long run. The things that destroyed his mental health throughout his teenage years. The things that even as an adult continued to haunt him to that very day. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Greg and Rose were incredibly good at keeping their relationship hidden from Steven. The only thing he truly saw from them was love. The one emotion he believed would eventually rule the world. With his parent’s relationship, he hoped one day that he would be able to love someone as much as his dad loved his mom. Being able to see that every day meant a lot to him, not only that - but they were pretty good at making sure they hid everything bad from Steven. He didn’t need to see any of it. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>However, the issue was that behind the scenes they had a lot going on that wasn’t something that the mind of a seven-year-old should ever have to comprehend. The type of story that would have only been published in newspapers for years to come to continue to shock people over what a tragic death Rose Quartz had suddenly been subjected to. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Steven remembered the night vividly. There was something about that evening that caused him to stay awake, lying in bed thinking about his favourite cartoon show. He knew he should have been in bed, at least trying to close his eyes - but he didn’t want to. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>That evening, the house was quiet. Steven didn’t know what the time was, but he knew it was late. Late enough that everyone should have been in bed. He knew that it was bedtime because the moonlight made its way through the window. Steven liked having his blind open as he slept so that he could always roll over in bed and look out of the window at the stars whenever he so desired. Space was really cool!</span>
</p><p>
  <span>As if out of nowhere, there was a lot of mumbled shouting. Upset shouting. Perhaps it was screaming? It sounded...like his dad. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Steven sat up in the bed and looked around the room, the only things illuminating the walls was the nightlight that was plugged in by the end of his bed and the moonlight that lit up half of the room. Steven held his hands behind him, digging his palms into his pillow as he sat up with a sudden motion somewhat disturbed by the noises. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He wanted to go outside of the room and explore the source of the noises. Except now it sounded like a phone call. A phone call that sounded like his dad's own panicked expressions. Over and over. Steven chewed on his bottom lip as he sat in the bed, contemplating what he should do that wouldn't get him told off. Once he was tucked up in bed he shouldn't have left it. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Steven decided to wait, crawling over to the closed door and pressing his ear against the wood, wanting to be nosey as his curiosity of a child got to him. All he wanted was to know what was going on. To know why it sounded as if his dad was so upset. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>A door. A crash. Different voices. Voices of the people who he considered his family. Garnet, Amethyst and Pearl.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shouting. Screaming. Sadness. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Steven was desperate to know what was happening. He wanted to know why everyone sounded so sad and why everyone was in his house so late at night. It wasn't like his mom's band to show up so late for practice! Did they have a show? Why were they shouting? </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Steven slowly opened up the door, pulling it forward and hoping that it wouldn't dream as he walked across the landing of the large house. He gripped onto the stairway bannister as he sheepishly crept down the steps, listening to the adult conversation that was occurring in the kitchen. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I just...don't understand!" Amethyst gasped as she sat up by the kitchen island running her fingers through her hair. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"We know this has been a problem for a while. It's...Greg, I'm so sorry." Garnet rubbed her eyes with her thumb and finger, pushing on the bridge of her nose as she used her spare hand on console Greg by gripping his shoulder. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"W-What am I supposed to tell Steven?" Greg gasped through tears. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Pearl paced up and down, hand covering her mouth as tears trickled down either side of her face, elbow balancing on her crossed arm. She looked up, her breathing stopping at the sight of the young boy in blue pyjamas standing in the doorway of the kitchen prodding his fingers together. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Steven…" Pearl spoke softly, gasping at the sight of the boy. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I-I couldn't sleep." Steven looked up at everyone's sad expressions, unsure what was happening that could have possibly made them so upset. Why were they so sad? </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Oh, Steven…" Pearl trembled his name once more as she immediately crouched down to hug Steven. She pulled him in tightly, her tears wetting the shoulder of his button-up shirt. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Both Greg and Amethyst sat up at the sight of Steven. They were petrified. What were they supposed to say? What were they supposed to tell him? </span>
</p><p>
  <span>How did someone tell a seven-year-old that their mother had just overdosed on pills? A bad habit that had haunted her for as long as she could remember. A secret she continued to keep hidden from the rest of her band. A habit that Greg had begged her to stop. A habit that she couldn't. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>It was something that none of the people within the room would have ever thought they would ever have to deal with. It was going to have been tough - but tell Steven that he had just lost his mother was going to have been the hardest part.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Steven accepted the hug, emotionally vacant as he looked around at everyone with tears in their eyes as if something terrible had just happened. It had. Something terrible had happened that would have shaken the course of history. Within a few hours, there would be a storm of paparazzi outside the gated house, flashing cameras and the heartbroken fans who would get more of an opportunity to grieve than any of the family. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Why is everyone crying?" Steven asked in an innocent tone, furrowing his eyebrows with concern. He didn't like seeing everyone upset, it was a sorry sight. Pearl slowly removed herself from the hug, gripping onto his shoulders.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Everyone he thought he knew at that moment couldn't formulate a response that wouldn't have hurt him. There was no way that they would have been able to come up with an answer that wasn't going to tear him apart. He was only young and something like this was going to stay with him forever. It was going to be horrendous. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Suddenly, there was a ring at the door, a buzzing that signalled that they had been let into the home through the gates by security. Greg immediately stood up, knowing that he had to be the one to go and answer the door to who he could only assume would be the first responders. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The Gems stood around in the kitchen trying their hardest to compose themselves. They had just lost their best friend of years. The lead singer of their band. Their rock. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Pearl continued to hold onto Steven's shoulders. Now...wasn't...the time.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Hey, Steven." Pearl sniffed, trying her hardest not to burst into tears again. "Should we go and get you tucked back up in bed?" </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I'm not </span>
  <em>
    <span>tired</span>
  </em>
  <span>." As if on command, Steven let out a small yawn. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I don't think that's true." Pearl half-smiled at his sweet demeanour. Her heart was breaking at the thought of him ever finding out about his mother. He was going to find out sooner rather than later. He had to. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Steven looked around the room once more, noticing that his father had disappeared. He was surrounded by his whole family, apart from…</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Where's Mom?" Steven asked in a soft tone, sending shivers down everyone's spines. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Pearl had to look away, she couldn't do it. She couldn't look into the boy's eyes and lie to him. She stood up, disconnecting them both as she covered her mouth in shock. She was going to start crying again - weeping even. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Garnet noticed the situation, realising what it was that was going on. Nobody deserved this. Nobody should have had to have gone through it. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Steven - it’s best for you to go to bed now.” Garnet spoke in what felt like a harsh tone, her voice cracking slightly through the tears that she had already wept. There wasn’t much else to say on the matter - not at that moment. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>At least, not anything that they could have said to have made the situation any better. Nothing would have prepared them for telling a seven-year-old that their mother had just passed away. Nobody had written a book on that and if they had, it wasn’t as if any of them had read it. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Steven exchanged glances with everyone around the room, holding onto his own hands anxiously. It didn’t seem as if anyone wanted him in the room. They were all too sad. He hoped that they weren’t sad the next day, it would have hindered the music practice that he had been excited about all week. He probably should have slept as a way to have kept up with what he wanted to do in the morning. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>It was a shame - he wouldn’t have been able to do it. Not without feeling guilt that a seven-year-old should never have felt. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Nobody said a word as Garnet stepped over and pushed him gently in his back, forcing him in the direction of the stairs. Steven was tired and didn’t want to question all of the sad expressions any further, he was sure that his mother had just gone out for a while. She did that sometimes. Although, it was pretty weird that everyone was in the kitchen and his mother was elsewhere. They should have gone together. That would have made more sense. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Each step Steven took up the stairs he began to question more and more what was going on. Garnet had never been like that with him before, cutting him off and pushing him lightly up the stairs so that he would go back to his room. He already felt bad that he had gotten out of bed, he knew he shouldn’t have done that. His mom usually would have taken him back upstairs and sang him a goodnight lullaby to calm him down and send him to sleep. It was strange of Garnet to do it instead, except he wasn’t quite sure that she was going to have sung to him. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Steven crawled back into his bed, turning back around and pulling his covers over his legs. Garnet sat on the side of his bed as Steven slid down between the sheets and placed his head on his pillow. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Steven noticed Garnet’s disconnect as she looked down at him with sad eyes. There was so much that she wanted to say, but no way that she could have spoken the words. As someone who spoke very few words but every word being wise and loving, it was hard for Garnet to figure out what to say. Steven pulled the covers up to his chin, trying his hardest to judge the scenario.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Is everything okay?” Steven whimpered, afraid to hear the answer. It didn’t seem as if anything was okay. Nobody seemed okay. Why was nobody speaking to him? </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Garnet didn’t know how to answer. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s...I...you should probably get some sleep…” Garnet fumbled on her words for a moment before deciding on the easiest out. She wanted to tell him, but the way the moonlight hit one side of his face through the window as he picked up the stuffed bear from the side of his bed and hugged it with intent. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Steven felt a sense of comfort as Garnet’s hand fell to the top of his head, patting down the intense amount of hair that he had on the top of his head. Steven giggled slightly as he held on to the stuffed bear and wiggled himself down on the bed to make sure that he was comfortable. The sight was painful for Garnet to see, still unsure of how to resolve the problem. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>There was no way of being able to reverse what had happened. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Goodnight, Garnet.” Steven smiled sweetly as he closed his eyes, holding the bear right up to his face. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Garnet had to look away before standing back up, making sure to pat Steven’s head once more before she made her exit. She slowly opened the door before looking back and whispering through the crack. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Goodnight, Steven.” Garnet replied before having to exit the room as fast as she could so that Steven couldn’t see her crying once more. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Steven wanted to say that he could have gone to sleep at that moment and yet as soon as the door shut behind Garnet - his eyes shot open and he stared at the ceiling. There was no way that he was going to get any sleep at all. He laid there for what felt like hours in his mind, hearing the chatter of adults beneath him in the kitchen. He wondered what they were discussing. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Garnet seemed pretty upset with whatever it was that had happened. He had never seen her get upset like that before, but despite him being confused by what was going on he wanted to make sure that she was okay. As much as he wanted to cry in front of her, a little frightened by everyone - he wanted to make sure to bottle it up. If everyone else was upset there had to be someone who wasn’t. Steven would have happily been that person for them until they got happy again! </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Steven watched as blue flashing lights from outside illuminated the ceiling of his bedroom. He got a little too curious as he placed the stuffed bear back on the bed and slowly crept over towards the window. As much as he wanted to sit in his bed all night, he was also curious to see where the lights were coming from. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Outside, there seemed to have been a couple of police cars and an ambulance. Steven once again pondered on the many questions in his mind that continued to pound about what may have happened during the house throughout the night. What happened? Why would they have needed an ambulance? Why would they have needed the police? </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Steven sat on a small storage box by the window so that he could see out of it without having to reach. He stared out of the window, his face being lit up by the momentary flashes of the blue emergency lights. Steven could have only assumed that whoever owned the vehicles was going to have been inside his house. Perhaps that was what his dad had run out of the room for earlier? To let them in? </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Steven’s mouth was slightly ajar as he looked down at the door to their large house, a couple of figures stepping out holding a stretcher. It was like what Steven had seen on movies before, except this time it had what looked to have been a person trapped underneath a black plastic sheet. Steven couldn’t help but question everything that he saw. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Why was there someone carrying a person in a plastic bag? </span>
</p><p>
  <span>It was then that he saw his dad, tears in his eyes as he followed the thing on the top of the stretcher. Steven’s heart dropped at the sudden realisation. Was his mom trapped inside of the bag? Was his dad going to get her out? </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He watched someone hand his father a clipboard only for him to have signed his name. It was some kind of official document - it didn’t look the same as when his mom gave people her signature after shows. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Steven pressed himself up against the window to get a better look, curious to know what was going on outside. There was something he wasn’t being involved in that he wanted to know about. Something that would have changed his life forever. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Although Steven didn't know much about a lot of things that weren't music and pancakes, he stared through the window with sorrow. His father's face filled with grief as he handed back the clipboard before reaching out to the plastic-covered figure on the stretcher. That was...it was...his mother. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Steven slumped backwards, unsure what everything meant anymore. He must have been lying to himself to think that his mom was covered by the plastic sheet. That wasn't right. It couldn't have been right! There was so much that was wrong about it all. He wanted to run back downstairs and come to an understanding of why everyone was so upset and yet the only thing he could do was move back over this bed before continuing to stare at the ceiling. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Was his mom taken away? </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He clenched onto the stuffed bear for comfort as he pulled the covers around him and began to cry. He wasn't sure if he was in a nightmare or not - something that he couldn't comprehend. There was so much going on in his head that he was completely overwhelmed. He was witnessing something that someone so young should never have had to experience. It wasn't fair. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Steven watched as the flashing lights on the ceiling of his room eventually went away, except the distant chatter of adults downstairs didn't subside for hours. At least, Steven was convinced it had been hours. He felt as if he had been staring up at the ceiling for an eternity before he glued his eyes shut as the door pushed open. He had to pretend he was asleep for whoever it was that wanted to come in and see him. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>With his eyes closed, he wasn't quite sure who it was that came in. He felt a presence at the end of his bed as the mattress fell ever so lightly. There was a sniff, one that was meant to be quiet but came out a little louder than they wanted. The last thing they needed to do was disturb Steven. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I'm so sorry, Steven." A voice spoke softly in a whisper, breaking through cracks in their voice that indicated pain. Steven listened carefully as he pretended to sleep. It was Pearl.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Steven was sure he would wake up from the nightmare soon. There was no way that what he had seen was believable. It was a prank. Like what they did to people on those silly television shows, right? </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"How am I supposed to tell you? I'm sure she... I'm sure she never wanted this for you. For any of us." Pearl sniffed, completely distraught by the events that had played out throughout the day. She had been so hurt by it all that she had no idea how Steven would have felt about it. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>How do you feel when your mother dies? </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Horrible. The worst you have ever been in your entire life. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She didn't want that for Steven and yet she didn't have a choice. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I don't know what to do. You remind me so much of her...and now that she's gone-" Pearl choked on her own words, Steven could audibly hear her hand slapping over her mouth in shock. She wanted to stop herself from getting so upset, but how was she going to have done such a thing when her best friend had just left forever. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Gone? Maybe what Steven thought had happened was true. His mother was gone? Where? </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I'm so sorry, Steven. I know this isn't what she wanted." Pearl finally chewed on her bottom lip, glancing over at Steven and resting her hand on his shoulder that was tucked up underneath the covers. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>This wasn't what Rose wanted in the slightest. Perhaps even as far away from it as possible. She got trapped inside of her mind a lot and being a famous pop singer took a toll on her a great deal. When she took the pills, they weren't supposed to kill her. Maybe numb her for a while so she wouldn't have to think about anything - but she didn't realise she had taken too many. She didn't realise that would have been a consequence that she would have to deal with. Death. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Pearl began to sob at the end of Steven's bed, causing himself to begin to cry at the sound of it. There had to be something he could have done to help her. If his mother really was gone, then everyone around him would need him more than ever. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Steven suddenly sat up in the bed, taking Pearl by surprise as he shuffled forward and reached around Pearl for a tight hug. The contact made Pearl cry a little harder. How could one boy feel so much empathy towards others? Steven shouldn't have to console Pearl - she was the adult! </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Don't worry, Pearl! Mom will come back!" Steven spoke with an optimistic tone, causing Pearl to be hit with the realisation of his innocence. What she would have given to have been so blissfully unaware of what was happening as everything around her crumbled. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Pearl couldn't speak. There wasn't a single word in the English language that she could have said to have made the situation any better. There wasn't a resolve. There wasn't anything that could make Steven's happy tone any less painful. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She turned around and hugged him back. Tight and with all of the love that she could give him. No matter what she was going to try her best to make sure that he was taken care of, despite his mother not being around. She wasn't quite sure what that meant considering Greg was still in the picture, wondering what the man was going to have done with his son.  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Things would never have been the same. Never. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Steven circled his finger around the top of the coffee cup inside the late-night cafe in the middle of Bristol. His stare was vacant as he looked across the table at Garnet with tears in his eyes. It was nice to have...seen her. Remembering how much love they all held for one another when he was a kid was something he needed to see. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"It's hard not to think about. I know." Garnet stated. "Sometimes you just have to take it one day at a time." </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Garnet had been through a lot throughout her life, the situation that she found herself in with the Gems and everything that surrounded it was by far one of the hardest things she had to deal with. No matter what she did she felt as if she had failed people like Steven. People who relied on her. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"It's really hard, Garnet. How am I supposed to live like this? I thought everything would be fixed by now. I have a girlfriend who loved me and my music is picking up - why am I so upset about this? Why can't I be happy?" Steven gave Garnet a look of fear. One that he never would have wanted to submit to. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Steven thought he was happy. For the longest time, it was the only thing that he could feel. Being with Connie was by far one of the most wonderful things that had ever happened in his life. Except, no matter how hard he tried to escape his past it always seemed to be creeping back to him. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"You're allowed to be upset about your past, I think what's important is that we look forward - not back." </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Steven sighed heavily. He needed to spend some more time speaking to the people in his past and he knew it. He shouldn't have avoided them for so long. None of them were bad people, but each of them were put into a bad circumstance that they couldn't help. Steven needed to understand and overcome that as a way to move forward. Speaking to Garnet was a step in the right direction. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"What if Pearl comes to one of my shows?" Steven furrowed his eyebrows, the fear burying deep within him. He was still thinking about it, despite having a good time with Garnet. It wasn't as if any of them were out to hurt him or make his life hell. That was never their intention. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He had stopped talking to them years ago simply out of principle. The idea that he was going to be his own person and he didn't need them to baby him anymore. He always thought they did everything through the guilt of him losing his mother. They probably felt as if they owed him something. They didn't owe him anything and he understood that now. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>They did it because they loved him. They wanted the best for him no matter what. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Even if Pearl did show up after one of his shows, he imagined it would have been the same as when Garnet showed up. A decent cup of coffee mixed with empty emotions. The only way that they could communicate. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“She’s not going to say or do anything to hurt you, Steven. She’s too caught up in her own business to think about disturbing your own. However, I’m sure she’d like to hear from you soon.” Garnet suggested, of course Pearl wanted to stay in contact with Steven. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The one reason why they had tried to stay away as possible was because he had spent such a long time trying to avoid them throughout his teenage years. To them, that was a sure sign that he most certainly didn’t want to be involved with their lives. At least, he didn’t want them inside of his life. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I know…” Steven felt an ounce of guilt about not ever making an effort to be anywhere near the people who meant something to him. People that cared about him. He should have been hiding so much from his past. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>However, even if he didn’t want to think about his past anymore - there was still so much in his future that he was afraid of. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You can always speak to me, Steven. Never be afraid to call me or message me. I’ll always be around to listen.” Garnet smiled slightly, assuring Steven of something that he previously wasn’t too sure about. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Wow, thanks Garnet.” Steven smirked back, holding onto the coffee and no longer shaking at having to be around the intimidating woman. She was in a position of power - but it no longer scared Steven. As much as she had always been a motherly figure towards him, within that moment he felt as if she was no longer patronising and if she truly did care. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The two of them sat there for the remainder of the night, chatting to one another about various things within their life. It was mostly a time for Steven to tell Garnet about everything that had happened to him. He was happy to share everything from the tours that he had been on to his relationship with Connie. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Garnet was happy to just sit there and passively listen to everything that he was saying. She loved hearing what he had been up to - the only way she could find out what he was doing was through social media and Greg. Not that Greg spent much time speaking to her, but he was always happy to update the Gems about Steven. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Steven felt a sense of relief that night - as if his worries about Pearl and the other Gems slowly slipped away. Of course, they were still there - but they felt as if they had subsided to a point that he could contain. He was still terrified of Pearl showing up, but why would it have mattered? It didn’t matter one bit and he knew that.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>If anything, his interaction hopefully would have been very similar to the one that he was currently having with Garnet. Coffee and a chat about things. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>They both ended the evening on a warm hug, Steven feeling so much better about everything than when he had walked into the coffee shop earlier in the night. His phone was flooded by texts asking if he was alright, but he ignored all of them. He wanted to be in the moment with the guardian that he hadn’t seen in so long. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Eventually, he stumbled into the hotel room late at night with a small smile on his face. He sighed a deep sigh of relief as he pushed his back up against the hotel room door, closing it gently behind him. He stepped into the hotel room and noticed Connie had fallen asleep with the lamp on above her. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She was gorgeous and Steven was so lucky to be her boyfriend. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He took another deep breath as he undressed and crawled into bed beside her. It felt nice to know that despite the mass amount of things that were going on around him that his past was no longer in his face. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Now was the point where he needed to keep looking forward. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>No more living in the past. </span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0008"><h2>8. Cambridge</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>One phone call to change everything. </p>
<p>Everyone's stuck in the middle. </p>
<p>That's a big can of worms...and it's finally open.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>“Why are there so many cyclists here?” Jenny furrowed her eyebrows as she carefully drove through the city. There was no way of being able to drive anywhere that was not overrun by people who believed that they were better than everyone else for cycling and saving the planet. The city of Cambridge was dominated by them. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m all for cycling - but this is just stupid.” Max peered out of the window as they passed a group of cyclists that weren’t going single file along the side of the road. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Where are they all coming from?” Buck pushed his sunglasses down the bridge of his nose. A never-ending stream of people on bicycles. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Cambridge is home to one of the most prestigious universities. Along with the fact it’s an incredibly environmentally friendly city, with the vast amount of students and commuters it’s no surprise that Cambridge is England’s cycling city.” Connie spoke as if she was reading a news article. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Who told you that? </span>
  <em>
    <span>BuzzFeed</span>
  </em>
  <span>?” Max turned in the seat and questioned. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I was reading up on it before we got here.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“So, all these people just cycle? All the time?” Steven stared out of the window at all of the bike racks. There were cyclists everywhere and he didn’t envy Jenny having to drive through them all. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You’d think it was the </span>
  <em>
    <span>Tour De fucking France</span>
  </em>
  <span>.” Max scratched the top of her head as everyone in the van stared at one cyclist who had decided it would have been a good idea to ride in the middle of the road. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Jenny pushed the brake on the van, causing them to slow down dramatically in comparison to the speeds they had managed throughout the built-up yet winding roads of the historic city. The cyclist continued to stay in the middle of the road, beginning to annoy Jenny more than he should have done.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What is this guy’s problem?” Jenny exclaimed before beeping the horn on the van. Connie glanced over at Steven, somewhat anxious about the scenario that could have unfolded. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“He’s got bikes on the brains, man.” Sour Cream chuckled at the idiot who was cycling in the middle of the road. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We can’t wait around forever, do you see how many people are behind us? Fuck this-” Max pushed the button down on the window, dropping the glass. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Max, no!” Connie raised her voice, but it was already too late as she watched Max lean out of the window. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yo dingus, unless you’re a Transformer, you don’t belong in the road! There’s a cycle lane for a reason!” Max shouted loud enough for the man on the bike to turn around. He immediately picked up on the angry woman shouting out the side of the van, the only thing he could hear was her accent. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Eat dick, you Yankee-danky doodle fuck!” The man on the bike continued to cycle in the middle of the road, blocking their access. He stuck his index and middle finger up at the van. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Stop this van! I’m going to rip this tea-sipping motherfucker to shreds.” Max went to unclip her seatbelt, Buck immediately reached through the front seats and made sure to hold her seat belt clip in place. She wasn’t going anywhere. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Come on now, there’s no need to get rowdy with these people.” Buck attempted to calm down the situation. It wasn’t worth getting angry with some strange British man that they never would have seen any other time in their lives. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m not getting rowdy - I’m showing this bastard what he deserves.” Max wiggled in her seat, attempting to remove Buck’s hand from the seatbelt. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Please don’t get arrested!” Steven furrowed his eyebrows at the situation that was unfolding. He didn’t want to have to call his dad to ask for bail. He wasn’t even sure if that was how everything worked. How would it work in another country? Man...he really didn't want Max to get arrested. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Look, look! We can get past - all is good.” Jenny assured Max as the cyclist turned down a backstreet with his middle finger in the air. Max leant out of the window once more as they passed. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah, you’d better run, dickwad!” Max shouted before slumping back down in her seat, folding over her arms and turning around to look at the rest of the band. “Uh, so what’s next?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The band couldn’t quite believe they had adopted someone as exciting as Max to be a part of their squad. They certainly wouldn’t have had it any other way, even if she did make a lot of noise when it came to violent encounters with the general public. They didn’t mind. They loved her regardless.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Steven sat in the back with Connie, he had trailed back into the hotel pretty late at night when she was already asleep. He crawled into bed next to her and fell asleep pretty quickly. Incredibly content with the conversation that he had with Garnet. It certainly didn’t turn out the way that he had expected, which was for the best. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>When he woke up, Connie was beside him ready to speak about everything that Steven had experienced the previous night with one of the few people he was terrified of having to meet up with once again after years of not seeing them. Steven didn’t have much to say on the topic, other than the fact that it went well and that he didn’t quite know why he was so worried. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It was true, Steven felt a little silly for the way that he had acted and how he had felt after discovering that Pearl was around. Even more so when Garnet had come to see him at a show. It was an interesting thing for him to have to experience when he hadn’t seen them in so long. Steven was paranoid that the people of his past would have haunted him, but that wasn't the case in the slightest. They still cared about him. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Throughout Steven’s life, all people ever seemed to do was leave and that was the one thing on Steven’s mind. The idea of Connie leaving. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>If she still hadn’t spoken to her parents about them being together then it was starting to become likely that she never was and that </span>
  <em>
    <span>terrified</span>
  </em>
  <span> him. When were they going to find out about him? On their wedding day? On the birth of their firstborn? On their deathbeds? </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He was being dramatic. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Steven had been thinking about it a lot - perhaps a lot more than what would have been considered healthy. He was hurt by the fact that it hadn't happened yet and it was completely valid for him to have felt that way. She had told him loads of times that she was going to tell them and yet it had never happened. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Going from Bristol to Cambridge was a bit of a trek, it had taken them all day to get there and when they did, it was nearly time for them to have gone and played a show. Steven dragged their bags into the hotel room and flopped himself down on the edge of the double bed. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Greg seemed to have opted to go for the same hotel chain every single city or town that they had visited, meaning that all of the hotel rooms that they had been in looked near enough the same. It was interesting because some of them were newer hotels and some of them were old, which meant some had newer facilities or decor that the others didn’t. The one in Cambridge was more than likely one of the older ones. Steven could tell by the dated model of television and the chips in the bedside table. This one also didn’t have USB plug sockets for his phone which the other ones did. This meant he would have to get his converter plug out of his bag...</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“So, do you think you'll be seeing Garnet again soon?” Connie continued to question him on his interaction with Garnet as she dug through her bag on the opposite side of the large bed, keeping up a conversation with Steven. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Steven laid flat with his hands on his stomach, staring up at the ceiling and thinking about her words. They had a brief conversation about it earlier, but it would have been nice for him to have opened up more about what had happened. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We only had a small conversation, but I think it will be nice to see her again. It was...strange.” Steven squinted slightly, he had spoken with Garnet about just about everything, but at the same time, it felt as if they hadn’t spoken about anything at all. Regardless of what they had spoken about, the contents seemed to have soothed him to the point where he wasn’t in constant stress. When it came to his past, anyway. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>With Pearl not constantly hammering in the back of his head the way she did before, he was finally in the frame of mind to have thought about other things. He was starting to look forward rather than staying in the past. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It must have been weird to see her after all that time.” Connie sighed, she couldn’t imagine how seeing someone who once had such a large impact on her life would feel like if she hadn't seen them in years. Especially after Steven had spent so long getting completely stressed out about what would happen if one of the Gems showed up again in his life. There hadn’t been anything to worry about. He shouldn’t have spent so long stressing about it. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah, it was really weird. So many people have left me throughout my life that...well...you never really expect them to come back…” Steven sighed as he tapped his fingers against his stomach, refusing to move his eyes from a particular spot on the ceiling. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Connie listened to his words, feeling some kind of guilt that she was one of the few people in his life who hadn’t left him yet. She had no plans on doing so, but she couldn’t help but think about how her not telling her parents about them must have made him feel. He had already expressed how he was unsure if their relationship would have been able to work past the tour. Long-distance didn’t always work and although they had already been far apart, at least before graduation Steven could have visited her whenever he wanted. It wouldn't have been as easy in Beach City. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m sorry, Steven…” Connie wasn’t quite sure what else to say. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s okay, it’s not your fault. Besides, you haven’t left me yet!” Steven chuckled nervously, feeling a little bad for speaking his mind. Later realising that what he said may have come across as emotionally manipulative. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Connie laughed at his comment, unsure what else she could have done to make the conversation a little less awkward. She knew that the idea still played on his mind that she was going to leave him at some point. His lowest point. He had spoken briefly about the women in his past who had done just that. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“That’s because I won’t!” Connie shook her head as she folded over a pair of her jeans and repacked them into her bag, reorganising everything that she had with her. They needed to do their laundry at some point. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Why not?” Steven attempted to hide his smirk as he looked over to her, desperately wanting to hear the words that he knew she would say under the circumstance. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Connie crawled onto the bed on her knees and held her hair as she leant over Steven as she kissed him on the lips. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Because I love you, silly.” Connie laughed as she hovered over him, he lifted his head and reached up with his lips to kiss her once more. Connie smiled down at his touch as his head hit the bed below. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well, that’s a relief. I love you too.” Steven smirked as Connie laid herself down on Steven’s chest. He gently moved his arm so that he could lay it across her stomach and hold her hand. Connie happily accepted his offer. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Steven smiled as he shut his eyes, taking in a deep breath. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We should stay like this forever.” Steven sighed, knowing that he could have easily have done just that if she had let him. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I would...but I’ve got laundry to do. Do you want me to do yours too?” Connie questioned as she looked up at him, he placed his spare hand behind his head to prop him up slightly so he could see her better on his chest. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I can help. We can do it together!” Steven suggested, not wanting Connie to have to do all of the hard work. He was always willing to help her no matter what. It wouldn’t have been fair otherwise. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Okay, but you have to remember to take the guitar picks out of your pockets!” Connie snorted, remembering all the times that he...hadn’t remembered. He always seemed to have several of them inside of his pockets at any given time. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh, really? I never have any in my pockets.” Steven laughed as he sat up slightly and immediately pulled three from his pocket. He gently sprinkled them onto Connie’s stomach as she laughed. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Stop it!” Connie giggled as she sat up and cradled the picks before turning around on the bed and throwing them towards him. Steven stuck his arm out in his defence, trying not to fall out of the bed as he reached into another pocket for more picks. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Thankfully he had two more. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He threw the two back, causing her to let out a little squeal as she grabbed the other plectrums from on top of the bedsheets and threw them towards him. Steven began to laugh as he defended himself by picking them up and repeating the actions. Suddenly they found themselves in a full-blown pick fight. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I can’t believe you would </span>
  <em>
    <span>pick</span>
  </em>
  <span> a fight with me!” Steven laughed over the commotion, wanting nothing more than to litter the moment with horrible puns. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh, that’s so bad - I love it!” Connie continued to chuckle, defending herself in the war between them both. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Steven’s impatience got the better of him, making sure to sit up completely as he reached over to Connie in an attempt to stop being attacked. Connie managed to move out of the way of his hand and before she could think about much else, Steven had managed to tackle her down into the sheets as they both laughed hysterically at the moment. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Steven held himself above her, the strings of his hoodie about to dangle down and hit her in the face as he laughed. He leant down and kissed her deeply as he had done many times before. They couldn’t quite deny how much they loved one another, regardless of all the white noise around them that continued to show how much their relationship wasn’t as easy as it first looked. Things were more complicated than that. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Connie pulled gently on the strings of his black hoodie as a way to get him closer, wanting to kiss him further. Sometimes it was nice to share that intimacy. They loved making out with one another and there was no harm in that. It always reminded them of when they had first met and the amount of time they had both spent thinking about wanting to kiss one another.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>They continued to kiss until suddenly there was a vibration that Steven felt on his thigh - coming from Connie’s thigh. He instantly detached from the kiss as Connie’s phone began to ring causing her to sigh heavily as she looked at Steven with disappointment in her eyes. All she wanted to do was make out with her boyfriend. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She reached for her phone and held it above her face as she laid down on the bed. Her eyes suddenly widened at the sight of the call. A name sat on the screen - one that she hoped she didn’t have to speak to for a while. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh no, my parents want to video call!” Connie groaned as she instantly sat up against the headboard of the bed and fixed her hair with her fingers the best she could. She readjusted her glasses as Steven looked over in shock, his expression had gone from one of sheer happiness to quiet and depressing in a matter of seconds. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’ll...be quiet.” Steven half-smiled as he too sat up in the bed beside her. Luckily, it was big enough for the two of them that if her parents did video call they wouldn’t have been able to see Steven off to the side. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Okay. Okay.” Connie took a deep breath and flipped her phone to the side before holding it up by her knees and smiling at the flashing screen. She tapped the green button and waved. “Hi, Mom! Hi, Dad!” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Connie! How are you, sweetheart?” Doug asked, speaking with love. Connie was contacted by at least one of her parents every single day, but she knew that their schedules had somehow lined up when they contacted her together. That always meant she would usually be on a video call with them. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Steven sat beside Connie, looking at the video call from the side of his eyes. He could see her parents on the call, both sat beside one another. They looked the same the last time that he had seen them back at her graduation. The only time that he hadn’t seen them through a screen. He still remembered the firm grip of her father’s hand and her mother’s piercing eyes. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m good, thank you! We’re in Cambridge today and it’s been really fun! Max and I visited King’s College.” Connie stated happily, knowing that everything that she was saying was a lie. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Steven tried not to sigh as he grabbed one of the picks off the bed and began to play with it in his hand, twisting it in his fingers. He needed to find something to occupy his mind as his girlfriend sat talking to her parents that had no idea he existed as anything more than the weird boy from the history trip last year who had befriended her. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’ve heard Cambridge is incredibly pretty. One of the student doctors at the hospital studied there and speaks about his time there frequently.” Priyanka inputted into the conversation. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“How have you both been?” Connie questioned politely as she watched her parents exchange glances. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“The same old superhero stuff. Saving lives and all. Protecting the good people of Beach City.” Doug laughed, Steven appreciated his humour knowing that he was a security guard and Priyanka was a doctor. Steven liked to think that if Connie told them about him that he would have gotten on well with Doug. He seemed like a pretty reasonable guy who had terrible yet loveable jokes. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Steven couldn't help but smile at Doug's small comments. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We’ve been pretty busy.” Priyanka added, Connie knew just how much they both worked. She admired their dedication to their jobs. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh, I suppose that’s why you haven’t called much.” Connie half-smiled. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well, you can call us too you know.” Priyanka was quick to comment back. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah, but, Mom - I don’t know your schedules. It’s better for you to just call whenever </span>
  <em>
    <span>you’re</span>
  </em>
  <span> free!” Connie laughed nervously, the less than she managed to call her parents the better. She was just making excuses. They had managed to only call little under once a week throughout her time at college. It was certainly nice to have that freedom. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The freedom that she wouldn’t have once she moved back to Beach City. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hmmm, she has got a point.” Doug shrugged.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Anyway, Connie, we were calling to check up on you and also to inform you of someone we’ve just met. There’s a new family that’s moved in across the street from us.” Priyanka began, Connie interested to hear what she had to say. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“The house across the street? Hasn’t that been on the market for ages?” Connie cocked an eyebrow, in this economy, it was hard to find people to purchase overpriced houses. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Not anymore!” Doug commented with a smile, swinging his arm. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yes, well, now it’s not. They’re a lovely family called the Bakers. We took them a succulent to welcome them to the neighbourhood.” Priyanka explained. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh, that’s nice of you.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“They have a lovely twenty-seven-year-old son who’s fresh out of law school - just like Maxine will be soon. He’s got lovely blue eyes and blonde hair. I think you’d like him.” Priyanka began to explain her true reasoning behind wanting to speak about the new family across the street. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Steven stared down a little harder at the pick between his fingers. It wasn’t as if he hadn’t heard a conversation like it before - but this time it bothered him. It</span>
  <em>
    <span> really</span>
  </em>
  <span> bothered him. He wasn’t quite sure if it was down to the fact that he knew that she could have told them by now - there was ample opportunity. Or perhaps it was the fact that she had just told him that she loves him. That she wouldn’t leave him. Ever.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>For the first time whilst she was on the phone to her parents, Steven fought back the urge to cry as a singular tear dripped from his eye and down his cheek. He immediately wiped it away so that Connie wouldn’t see. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh, Mom...you know-” Before Connie could even finish her mother was already continuing to speak about the sore subject. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I know you always have excuses to get out of these things, but I think that this would be good for you. Once you’re back in Beach City it would be nice to go out on some dates, especially with some local boys who have just finished their studies and returned home. You’ll both have something in common then. There will be ample opportunity to look for work in the area too.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Mom…” Connie wanted her mother to stop talking, knowing that Steven had to hear every single word that they both spoke. Her mother seemed a lot more persistent than her father ever was. Doug sat in silence throughout the conversation. He didn’t want to input something that would have gotten him stuck between both his wife and daughter. He had been there far too often. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“All I’m saying is that now you’re free, it might be a good time to consider finding someone to spend the rest of your life with…” Priyanka glanced over to Doug with a smile, it was no secret that the two of them had found one another when they were young. Connie had explained the love story between her parents to Steven plenty of times - he had always found it sweet. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The words resonated within her mind. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Someone that she wanted to spend the rest of her life with</span>
  </em>
  <span>...she looked over at Steven who was slumped downwards with part of the hoodie covering his lips. He was playing with a purple pick in between his fingers - unable to look anywhere else. She suddenly noticed a tear that had recently fallen down the side of his face. Her heart began to ache. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Why was she so set on making sure that her parents never found out about Steven? What was the worst that could happen? They would ban her from seeing him? She was twenty-two! They couldn’t do anything to prevent her from going to see Steven. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She had told him that she would never leave him, but the way that her mother spoke about these men that she had suddenly planned for Connie to spend the rest of her life with the more she thought about how that must have made Steven feel. Time after time she denied him that acceptance. She denied him the truth of her wanting to be with him. He must have had so much doubt. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Connie didn’t want to hide Steven any longer. She didn’t want to hear any more of the conversations that belittled her feelings. That hurt Steven’s feelings! It pained her to think about the amount of time that she had wasted throughout the year festering on the feelings that she should have spilt a long time ago. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The problem was as soon as one lie was out in the open - all of them were. Connie had snowballed her lies beyond ever being able to go back on them. There was no way of her being able to cover up any of her lies anymore once she had told them about Steven. Everything would crumble. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Although, at the moment that didn’t quite seem to matter as she saw Steven’s sad expression as her mother spoke about how she was going to pair her up with some stranger that she had never met. Sure, Steven didn’t have a degree or a fancy haircut - he was just Steven. That didn’t matter, Connie loved him no matter what. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Mom, Dad - there’s someone I’d like you to meet...” Connie took a deep breath as she looked over to Steven. His head immediately turned at the words. Steven immediately scrambled upwards and wiped his eyes on the sleeve of his hoodie before trying his hardest to fix his hair. He wasn’t wearing a tie - but this would have to do. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Who is it?” Doug questioned, wanting to be a part of the conversation again. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Connie nodded at Steven with a smile, he sat with his mouth slightly ajar. He was more in shock than anything else, unable to quite fathom the idea that Connie was finally going to have admitted the truth. He was finally going to have been something to her. A part of her family. A part of who she was. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Steven made sure he was sat up straight as Connie turned her phone so that they could see him. Steven smiled sweetly at them both. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hi!” Steven waved awkwardly before rubbing the back of his neck and chuckling. Oh man, he was nervous. Connie couldn’t help but believe he was doing great! </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Connie shuffled up beside Steven so that they were both in the view of the camera as she held her phone up. Her parents sat in silence, unable to process what was happening before their eyes. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“This is my boyfriend, Steven. You met him at my graduation - remember? He had dinner with us.” Connie smiled, proud to show Steven off to her parents. Connie held the phone in front of them with one hand as the other touched his knee. He gently placed his hand on top of hers. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Boyfriend?” Doug cocked an eyebrow.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah! We’ve been dating for nearly a year. I didn’t want to t-”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“A </span>
  <em>
    <span>year</span>
  </em>
  <span>?!” Priyanka suddenly shrieked at the idea of her adult daughter being in a relationship that she didn’t approve of. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Wait. Steven the music history major?” Doug got slightly closer to the computer to get a better look at Steven. Steven felt somewhat intimidated. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I, uh…” Steven was taken back by their expressions. This certainly wasn’t quite what he had expected, a moment that he had thought about for a long time. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah! Well, not really. Steven’s a professional musician, he plays in a rock band.” Connie squeezed his hand gently, assuring him that she was trying her best to make sure that things went as smoothly as possible. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“A rock band - with drugs?” Priyanka’s eyes widened at the idea. There was no way that her daughter would have been this irresponsible. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No Mom, no drugs!” Connie furrowed her eyebrows and shook her head, her parents getting the wrong idea. Just as she had suspected would happen once she was to tell them about Steven. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Steven was starting to realise why it had taken her so long to tell them…</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Connie - take us off video this instant. We need to talk to you.” Priyanka’s tone dropped. The tone that made Connie know that the conversation had taken a serious tone. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Whatever you have to say to me, you can say in front of Steven.” Connie cocked her eyebrow, a little upset with the way that her parents were treating the situation. Why did they have to be like this? </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Ask Steven to go back to his room.” Doug requested as if he couldn’t have just spoken to Steven directly. It wasn’t as if the man wasn’t sitting right there on the video camera next to his daughter. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“This is his room. We’re staying </span>
  <em>
    <span>together</span>
  </em>
  <span>. I just told you we’ve been dating for nearly a year!” Connie huffed, unsure how more specific she had to be. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You’re sharing a bed?” Doug’s voice got higher at the thought, Connie watched him run his fingers through his hair. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Dad! I’m twenty-two!” Connie argued back, squeezing a little tighter onto Steven’s hand. He chewed the inside of his lip as he listened to them argue. He had heard them have minor disagreements over the phone before - but none of them had been about him. He had caused this. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Connie! No more video - call us </span>
  <em>
    <span>immediately. </span>
  </em>
  <span>In</span>
  <em>
    <span> private.</span>
  </em>
  <span>” Priyanka practically barked the words, sending shivers down Steven’s spine. His dad never would have scowled at him like this. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Connie shook her head in protest. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Why Mom? I just said that everything you can say to me - you can say to Steven! I don’t understand why you always have to do this to me. It’s as if whenever I have some kind of happiness in my life you’re so quick to take it away from me!” Connie continued to state her point, keeping her phone held above them. Steven could feel her skin becoming hot to touch. She was getting angry. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Connie, listen to your mother. Call us. Now.” Doug reiterated with a much harsher tone, pressing his finger aggressively against the wooden desk that the laptop was balancing on. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You’re just going to-”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Connie Maheswaren - NOW!” Priyanka bellowed. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Fine, but it won’t make a difference.” Connie sighed as she hung up the call and immediately saw her mobile was ringing. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Connie glanced over at Steven with sympathy in her eyes, she certainly didn’t want him to have to witness this. This wasn’t something that she ever wanted him to see. Her relationship with her parents was fragile - it wasn’t so much about Steven as a whole, it was about going against their approval. The image of their perfect daughter being tainted by the strange man in the rock band. That wasn’t the plan that they had set out for their daughter throughout her life. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Steven didn’t quite know how to feel. A part of him was over the moon that her parents now knew that he existed. Not just existed like at her graduation, but this time they knew that he existed solely as her boyfriend. That was a fantastic feeling. He was loving every second knowing that he had finally found some kind of permanence in her life. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Except, it wasn’t really how he wanted it to go down. It was a lot more hostile than he imagined in his head. He knew that Connie didn’t have a great relationship with her parents, but he hadn’t quite expected it to be like this. Not...this...bad...</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Connie adjusted herself to a more comfortable seated position as she answered the phone call, bringing the phone to her ear to give her parents some kind of privacy that they wanted. She wasn’t going to have moved away from Steven. She wanted to hold his hand for comfort. She needed him. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What do you need to say?” Connie spoke with such attitude that only fuelled her parent’s anger more. If Connie got in trouble for anything, it would always have been the sass that she held. She was far too good at it.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What do we need to say? Connie! Where is Maxine?” Priyanka snarled as she spoke, even though Connie could no longer see their faces she knew that they were incredibly angry with her tone. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Steven watched Connie, unable to not listen to the phone call. Connie’s phone speaker was loud enough that despite her having it pressed to the side of her face he was still able to hear everything that they had to say. If they had something to say about Steven then they should have been comfortable enough to have said that in front of him too. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Max is in another room. We’re </span>
  <em>
    <span>touring</span>
  </em>
  <span> the UK - as I said before. I’m </span>
  <em>
    <span>staying</span>
  </em>
  <span> with Steven.” Connie attempted to keep some of her lies. Except, what she was saying wasn’t a lie in the slightest. She was touring the UK, just perhaps not for the same purpose that she had first stated. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“So, what you’re telling me is that you’re fresh out of college and the first thing you do is run away to another country with some </span>
  <em>
    <span>boy</span>
  </em>
  <span>?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Mom, his name is </span>
  <em>
    <span>Steven</span>
  </em>
  <span>.” Connie spoke his name slowly, perhaps then they would understand a bit better. “I can always send it in a text if it makes it any easier-” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“That’s it - you’re coming home right this instant! I want you on the next flight home. Now!” Priyanka yelled down the phone. Even if Steven wasn’t sitting anywhere near Connie, he would have been able to hear it.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Connie held tightly onto Steven’s hand as she stared down at the bedsheets after hearing the words. She wasn’t going to go home. Not even her parents were going to have decided that. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m not coming home until my trip is over.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh no, young lady - you’re coming home now.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I paid for this trip.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I don’t care. You’re coming home.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m not.” Connie scoffed, she wasn’t going to lie to them. She certainly wouldn’t have been going home until her trip came to an end. They still had five days left on the tour and they weren’t going to waste it. Connie wasn’t going home, no matter how much her parents kicked or screamed. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You’re in big trouble...”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Will you stop treating me like a little kid, for </span>
  <em>
    <span>once</span>
  </em>
  <span>?” Connie screamed back down the phone, Steven was suddenly taken back by her shouting. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Act your age!” Her mother hissed down the phone, incredibly upset with her daughter’s life choices. This certainly wasn’t what she had expected from her introverted daughter who spent most of her evenings with her head buried in textbooks. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"You're not letting me!" </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"You clearly can't be trusted with adult decisions!" </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“All you and dad have ever done is try and make my own life choices and whenever I make a choice of my own you always say it’s the wrong one! Just let me do something for myself for once! You always make me do things that I don’t want to do. I went to college for you, </span>
  <em>
    <span>didn’t I</span>
  </em>
  <span>? I graduated, </span>
  <em>
    <span>didn’t I</span>
  </em>
  <span>? What more do you want from me? Don’t you want me to be happy?” Connie ranted down the phone, dramatically letting go of Steven’s hand so she could use her spare hand to express herself further with rapid movements. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Steven sat back slightly and watched her rant passionately to her parents. She needed that. She needed it more than anything. Years of frustration finally building up to that one moment. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Priyanka and Doug’s ears rang at the last comment, forcing them into silence for a moment.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Connie, I’m booking you the next available flight. I want you to come home.” Priyanka’s tone was suddenly a lot calmer. A false sense of security. There was no way that she would have been catching that flight - they were wasting their money on something that she wasn’t going to accept. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“And I want you to back off. I guess neither of us will be getting what we want!” Connie gritted her teeth together, unable to even look up at Steven as she poured out her aggressive emotions to her parents. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Con-” Her mother began. Before Connie could hear yet another rant she pulled the phone away from her face and instantly pressed her finger against the red button. There was no way that she would have been able to continue that conversation. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Steven watched as Connie threw the phone to the end of the bed. The screen almost immediately lit up again as the ringtones and vibrations continued. Connie stared at the phone at the end of the bed as it rang. It was her parents again. They didn’t give her any space. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“C-Connie…” Steven stuttered as he gently reached out for her shoulder. As he placed his hand on her shoulder he gently rubbed his thumb against her collarbone as her jaw unhinged at what she had just experienced. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Wha-what have I done?” Connie’s eyebrows dipped, unable to even comprehend the conversation that she had just had with her parents. It wasn’t like anything she had ever experienced before. There was nothing that could have compared to what she had just been through. There wasn’t a moment in history where she had spoken to her parents like that before. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You told them…” Steven couldn’t help but smile as he looked at her with the sweetest expression. Connie looked up at him, noticing the glistening in his eyes. They were hazed over with a watery shine. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I did…” The realisation hit Connie like a brick wall. She had told her parents about her relationship, something that she had never done before. They didn't quite know a lot about it - but it was a start. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>A terrible, horrible start. Her parents knew about her boyfriend, but at what cost to the relationship with their daughter? A huge cost that could have affected their entire relationship until the end of time. What if they kicked her out of the house for her actions? Where was she going to live? What if they disowned her? </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>There were a lot of things running through Connie’s mind that she couldn’t get in check. There was nothing that she could have done to stop them. Except, there was one person who was at least going to try. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It’ll be okay...I think it just needs some time.” Steven pressed his lips into a thin line as he attempted to compose himself for Connie’s sake. He didn’t need to be upset about the situation, he had gotten what he had wanted at the cost of Connie’s relationship with her parents. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What if it doesn’t get fixed?” Connie continued to watch the phone at the end of the bed as the ringing stopped. It didn’t take very long for it to start ringing again. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We can figure something out.” Steven shrugged, wanting to be as sympathetic to the situation as possible. He was finding it hard considering how her parents had reacted. Connie needed her parents in her life - but perhaps not as often as she had them there now. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Connie shuffled over to Steven, making it known to him that she was madly in love and wanted nothing more than his comfort. Steven shuffled backwards so that his back was against the headboard, Connie rested her head on his chest and cuddled up to him the best she could as she continued to look down the bed at the ringing phone. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Connie couldn’t muster up the courage to cry. It didn’t even feel like she could cry even if she desperately wanted to. There was nothing that anyone could have said or done to have made the situation any better. Going into that day she had never expected something like that phone call with her parents to happen. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Parents are weird…” Steven sighed, thinking back to his situation that he had come across not too long ago. It hadn’t been long since he was inside of a coffee shop with Garnet late at night. Although she wasn’t strictly his parent, she had been a parental figure to him for a lot of his life. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Steven often wondered what his mother would have thought about Connie. He liked to think that she would have loved her as much as his dad did. A part of him also wished that he got an opportunity to tell her, despite that never being possible. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah…” Connie sighed heavily as she played with the fraying fabric on the cuff of Steven’s hoodie before looking back over at the phone. It just didn’t stop ringing. Steven gently threaded his fingers through her hair to comfort her as she laid on his chest. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Neither of them deserved to have been in the position that they were currently in. Connie had just opened the biggest can of worms by telling her parents about Steven and Steven had practically provided the can opener. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"I'm sure things will get better." Steven chewed on his bottom lip, unsure if what he was saying was the truth. If he couldn't believe it himself then how was Connie supposed to believe it?</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"I don't know..." Connie's tone was uncomfortable, her voice somewhat dampened by the harrowing ring of the mobile phone. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>If Connie couldn't repair her relationship with her parents then Steven worried that he would have once again been thrown out of the picture. He couldn't quite believe he was having these thoughts. Why couldn't he have won in any of the scenarios within his mind? There was no escape from the bad thoughts that constantly told him that Connie was going to leave - just like everyone else. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Steven brushed his fingers through her hair before kissing her forehead softly, over and over. She couldn't help but ignore his comforting lips as she rested on his chest and stared at the phone. Her mind was in a completely different place to where she was physically. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>They hated her. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It took nearly an hour for Connie’s parents to eventually give up on trying to ring her, enough that Steven had Connie’s ringtone in his head. He could probably have made a song from the beat. He didn’t want to admit to Connie that he had done just that. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>They eventually both made their way to the show that Steven needed to play. Connie wasn’t exactly in the best of moods to go to a concert, but it was Steven’s job and he had to play no matter what. Steven wanted to be with Connie all evening, snuggling up to her as a way of trying to make her feel better. He was so thankful that she had finally told her parents, considering he had been pushing for it for the longest of times. Except, things still weren't quite the way that he wanted them to be.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You don’t look happy.” Max commented as she laid a t-shirt out on the table in front of her. She patted it gently to make sure it was flat. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s my parents, I told them about Steven.” Connie sighed as she stared at her phone and the ninety-six missed calls that she had received from them amongst an abundance of texts. They must have been spending a lot of money on international calls...or at least trying to. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yikes. How did that go? I’m assuming </span>
  <em>
    <span>not well</span>
  </em>
  <span> from your sad-sack expression.” Max stopped lining everything up on the merch table. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Not well. My parents hate me and Steven probably thinks I’m some kind of psycho from how I acted with them on the phone.” Connie shook her head as she turned back to check on how Max had laid out the merch table. Just as Connie turned around she noticed a plushie wolf being held in front of her face. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Oh Connie, don’t worry! You still have me and Max to keep you company. We’ll always love you.</span>
  </em>
  <span>” Max spoke in the comical voice that she had given Stephen Space-Wolf as she held the toy in front of Connie’s face. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Connie gently batted the plushie out from in front of her face. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Will you give that thing a rest?” Connie sighed once more as she shook her head, a little bit distracted to have been entertained by Stephen Space-Wolf. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“He’s an important part of the team, Connie. I will not.” Max shook her head in response as she placed Stephen Space-Wolf in his usual position in the middle of the table right beside the free stickers. He sat there happily night after night, continuing to help the band sell more merchandise. He was great at his job. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>As much as Connie thought that she could have spoken to Max about her issues, she didn’t quite feel as if she needed the perkiness of whatever it was that Max had to say when it came to advice at that moment. There was nothing she wanted more than to have some advice with some maturity attached to it. As much as she loved Max, it wasn’t always that she gave the advice that she wanted. Max was good emotional support though and Connie could always appreciate that. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Connie found it hard to not look at her phone throughout the show, occasionally looking up at the stage to watch Steven and the rest of the band. It felt like more of a courtesy than actually wanting to see him play that night. A part of her felt terrible for it, but she couldn’t help but continue to stare at the messages that came through on her phone. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Each one of them was against her. From her parents. Messages that she didn’t think that she would have ever had to have read. Ones that she didn’t quite understand the meaning to. Others that she did and that hurt her deeply. Yet, she couldn’t cry at them. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She was still seething with rage. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>How dare her parents continue to treat her that way? It was as if they didn’t even treat her like their own daughter at times. It wasn’t fair and Connie was fed up of continuously being told that no matter how much she tried she never would have been good enough for her parents. Steven was just the icing on the cake. There was no way of going back from this. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Steven kept his cool-guy persona on as he bounced around the stage the same way that he did every night. He did scan the crowd over and over for Connie, making sure that she was still there in the building. He noticed her a few times, but with her head down buried in her phone at the back of the venue, it was hard to spot her. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Connie had been so absorbed in everything that her parents were saying that she barely noticed that the show had come to a close and that everyone around her was starting to flood out of the venue. Connie stayed with her back against the wall at the back of the venue, if it wasn’t for the name badge that was hanging from her jeans indicating that she was a part of the band then security would have kicked her out a long time ago. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Connie! I’ve lost him!” Max gripped onto Connie’s shoulders suddenly, immediately taking her by surprise and knocking her out of the trance that she had been in. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Max! Be careful, I nearly dropped my phone.” Connie scowled as she gripped tightly onto her phone to make sure the next time that Max grabbed her violently she wouldn’t have been the fool who dropped her phone at a show. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I-I had him right then and now he’s not. I’ve looked everywhere! I don’t know what to do. He was right there! I’m freaking out, what if someone took him?” Max pointed back to the table, squeezing onto Connie’s arms as she spoke. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Who? What are you talking about?” Connie was a little distracted by her internal issues, barely noticing Max’s eyes welling up under the poor lighting at the back of the venue. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Stephen! Stephen Space-Wolf!” Max barked, panic in her voice. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh.” Connie’s face dropped, realising that perhaps the situation wasn’t quite as urgent as Max had first made it seem. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I don’t understand. He was just there - on the table. I </span>
  <em>
    <span>always</span>
  </em>
  <span> watch him. Maybe I looked away for a second? I didn't even go to the bathroom! Oh man, I’m such an idiot. W-what if someone took him when I was getting change or the card machine? I don’t know what to do! I'm freaking out! T-this is too much! Why am I such an idiot?” Max’s eyebrows dropped as she looked Connie dead in the eyes, her best friend finally noticing the build-up of tears in her eyes. Was Max...crying? Connie hadn’t seen Max cry in months…</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Woah, Max! It’s fine.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s not </span>
  <em>
    <span>fine</span>
  </em>
  <span>. Stephen Space-Wolf is </span>
  <em>
    <span>missing!</span>
  </em>
  <span>” Max repeated herself as if she was unsure if Connie had truly heard what she had just said. Connie didn’t seem to be bothered at all, she had much more pressing things on her mind than finding a plushie wolf. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Look, Max - slow down, take a look around for it. If you can’t find it, we’ll go and get another one. It’s okay!” Connie held onto her friend’s shoulders in response, attempting to calm her down. Max’s face dropped completely, phasing through several emotions all at once. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Get another one? Connie! This is Stephen Space-Wolf. I don’t think you understand. I can’t just </span>
  <em>
    <span>get another one</span>
  </em>
  <span>. There is only one! We got him from Des Moines zoo on July twenty-ninth last year. There's no going back. It's not the same! This is serious and I don't think you're taking me seriously!” Max stressed, her inability to control her emotions coming out of the cracks. She was breaking down - more so than usual. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Connie looked over Max’s shoulder, she knew that Steven was probably somewhere behind the stage packing up the show. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We’ll find him, don’t worry about it.” Connie brushed her off, pulling out her phone as she had a sudden thought about having had a text message or call from her parents again. She hadn’t quite expected to get the sheer abundance of messages like that through the show. She wanted to speak to Steven about it. She needed to speak to Steven about it. Nobody else would understand. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Connie, please! Will you at least help me look?"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Max, I'm really busy!" </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Do you think they have CCTV? Do you think they'll let us look?" </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"I don't know, Max." Connie glanced down at her phone with a sigh. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"C-can you help me ask? I'm...hmmm...I don't think I can. I'm really nervous." Max's expression was full of panic as she tapped her fingers together rapidly. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Maybe later." Connie peered over Max's shoulder at the stage, Steven still hadn't appeared. If she wanted to speak to him she was going to have to go and find him. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"This is pretty urgent, Connie. What if he was stolen? He was probably stolen! Y'know, Buck says that he's the most important member of the band. I haven't told them yet. Do you think they're going to hate me because I lost him? Oh jeez, I didn't even think about that. Oh man, now that's all I can think about..." Max touched her forehead with the palm of her hand and stared at the floor in dismay. "Oh boy, I'm not going to be allowed to do merch anymore. I'm going to get sent home. What about Mister Universe? I-I thought I was doing really well and then suddenly I'm just not. Woah." </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"I've got to go, I'll catch you later?" Connie barely heard what Max had said as she stared at her phone in shock from the messages her parents were sending her the whole time she was at the show. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Connie went to step past her best friend before Max practically hopped in front of her, gripping onto her shoulders. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Stephen Space-Wolf is missing, Connie! Please!" Max begged, wanting nothing more than Connie to help her look for the fluffy wolf. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Max!" Connie snapped, violently knocking Max's hands off her shoulders out of sheer frustration. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"This is serious! Someone took him and we need to find out who else we'll never get him back!" Max pressed, blocking Connie's path to the stage. Connie groaned out of frustration, trying to get past her insistent friend. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Max, later!"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Con-"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"I've got more important things going on than looking for some toy!" Connie snapped, pushing Max completely out of the way as she stormed off towards the stage. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Max touched the top of her chest where Connie had nudged her out of the way, she stood in shock at the action. Her eyes began to well as she became overwhelmed with all sorts of emotions. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Max watched as Connie practically ignored her panic. Why would her best friend completely ignore something incredibly important to her? It didn’t seem like a very nice thing to do, she certainly hadn’t expected it from Connie. Max gave Connie a somewhat look of disgust as she walked to the stage, completely ignoring Max’s meltdown. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Max clenched her fists as she took a deep breath, spinning on her heel and pushing the table out of the way to grant her access to behind the merch stand. She immediately dropped to her knees to be on the same level as the mass amount of boxes filled with t-shirts and hoodies. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Fine. Since you don’t fucking care, I’ll find him myself.” Max spoke in an aggressive tone before picking up the t-shirts and looking underneath them to see if Stephen Space-Wolf had fallen into one of the boxes. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Max was baffled by her friend’s reaction. It wasn’t like Connie at all to have ignored her best friend. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Except...in recent months it had been. Especially whenever Steven was around. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Max was always second best. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Max grumbled as she continued to dig through the vast amount of merchandise that she would have had to pack up within the next thirty minutes. She certainly wasn’t in the mood to do any of that if Stephen Space-Wolf was missing. Connie hadn’t made the situation any better. She had made it worse in Max’s mind. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Max wanted the ground beneath her to swallow her whole and never let her go. She wanted to go back to the hotel room and cry. She didn't want to speak to anyone or interact with anything. Her night was over. Her unmoveable interest in the band had diminished within seconds. She didn't want to be there. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Connie made her way backstage, attempting to find wherever it was that Steven had gotten to. She didn’t quite know what she was going to do when it came to her parents and yet she had been completely distracted by their text messages all day. She had never gone against her parents before. Well, she had - just not in a way that they knew about. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Over a year’s worth of lies were finally out in the open. Of course, Connie was going to have felt terrible about it. It was an incredibly intense situation that she didn’t think she would have ever had to tell her parents about. She certainly didn’t want to go home and face them. The longer that the tour went on the scarier the thought of doing so became. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Ripping off the band-aid when it came to her relationship and her parents was probably the best way to do everything, except it certainly didn’t feel like it as her heart ached whenever she thought about the idea of her parents knowing about her relationship with the frontman of an emo band. He certainly wasn’t the doctor or lawyer that they had envisioned her dating throughout her entire life. They must have thought she was going through some kind of rebellious phase that they could fix with a stern talking to. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>They weren’t going to be fixing anything. She had a lot to think about, but nothing involved ever leaving Steven because her parents were going to tell her to. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Steven?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh hey, Connie - is everything okay?” Steven’s expression dropped as he noticed the look on Connie’s face was sad and vacant. Just as it had been when they left the hotel room earlier on during the day. He was standing in the corridor staring down at his phone, gently placing it back into his pocket as Connie approached. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Connie didn’t quite know what to say as she glanced down at her phone and unlocked the screen, eventually holding out the device in front of her so that he could have a look at what they had been sending her. Steven reached out and held the phone in his own hands, slowly scrolling through the abundance of messages that she had been sent. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>'Come home right this instant.'</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>'You're disappointing us, Connie. We only ever ask the best of you and this is the thanks we receive?'</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>'We have booked your flight. Come home, now!'</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>'Answer your phone.'</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>'We've sent the details of your flight.'</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>'Connie. You had better be on that plane.'</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>'There was no check-in for the flight. Did you even get on it?' </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>'Connie Maheswaran, you are not in any position to argue with us. This rebellion has to stop. Pack your bags and come home, now.'</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>'Where are you?'</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>'If you don't respond soon, I will be forced to call the police.' </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>'Connie, we're so disappointed in you…'</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Every message made Connie's heart ache. She wasn't quite sure what she could have done to make the situation better than to go home - but that certainly wasn't something that she wanted to do. She didn't want to go home! </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>A lot of the things that her parents had threatened her with were not viable and although that didn't fill her with confidence, it worried her about what they could have potentially have done instead. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Oh...Connie...it's okay…" Steven didn't quite know what to say as he gently passed the phone back and wrapped his arms around her. Connie buried her head into his chest, perhaps Steven didn't quite know what to say - but he did give pretty good hugs and that was just as important. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Connie didn't cry. She didn't feel as if she could cry. There was no way that she could express such an emotion when all of her emotions were chewed up within her. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"I don't know what to do, Steven." Connie groaned into his chest, he smelled sweaty, but she didn't seem to mind. He had just played a show and there wasn't much he could have done about it. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"They don't control you...you can do what you want." </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"But it feels bad."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Lots of things feel bad, but they can often lead to good things too." Steven spoke softly, knowing his bias on the situation. As much as he didn't want Connie to be upset, he also knew that she had finally told her parents and that was the best thing that could have happened to him in a long time. He was glad that they finally knew he existed - even if things didn't quite work out the way that either of them expected.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Except, Connie couldn't help but feel as if she knew this was going to happen. Perhaps telling them whilst she was overseas was either the smartest or stupidest idea - she wasn't sure just yet.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Connie had gone against her parents in a fit of rage when it came to her relationship with Steven. So much had gone wrong all at once. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"It's going to be okay, right?" Connie questioned. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Yeah... it's going to be okay." Steven assured, unsure whether he was lying or not.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>There was no way of knowing what the future could bring.  </span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0009"><h2>9. Bedford</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Steven's starting to ask questions - the wrong questions.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Man, I wish I had more time to edit this chapter - I did not.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>"Can someone go and speak to Max? She hasn't spoken to anyone since last night. She wouldn’t speak to me in our room - it’s really unlike her.” Jenny furrowed her eyebrows as she sat in the hotel lobby poking a wooden stick around the top of her coffee. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Everyone was sitting around the restaurant table, consuming breakfast just as they had done day after day. They always sat around together. The journey from Cambridge to Bedford was only around forty minutes, which meant that they had a lot of the day to do whatever they wanted to do without thinking about travel. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Is she okay?” Steven dipped his eyebrows, a little confused as to why Max would choose to sit away from everyone else. Max always wanted to be as close to the band as possible, it was weird to have her be anywhere that wasn’t next to them. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Stephen Space-Wolf went missing, man. We couldn’t find him.” Sour Cream gave everyone a look of concern. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Dognapped</span>
  </em>
  <span>.” Buck shook his head with grief, nobody wanted the plushie wolf to have gone anywhere. He was their mascot and a part of their team. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Connie sat at the end of the table, guilt spreading through her over the fact that she hadn’t been there for Max to continue to search for the plushie animal. The problem was, Connie had a lot more on her mind that didn’t involve something that could have quite easily have been replaced. The relationship that she held with her parents wasn’t something that she could have picked up in the store like what Max could have done with Stephen Space-Wolf. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh...that’s awful.” Steven’s heart ached at the thought. He knew how much that the wolf had meant to Max. It hurt him to know that Max was in pain over the situation. There was nothing that he could have done. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Maybe we could swing back around to the venue and see if they’ve got anything before we leave?” Jenny suggested - anything to have made Max feel somewhat better about the situation. There could have been a glimmer of hope that they would have found the toy that they had gotten incredibly attached to. Especially Max. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That sounds like a good idea.” Sour Cream commented, knowing that it was the best option for them all. They had enough time, it would have been rather unfair to not have even tried. The stuffed wolf meant a lot to them all. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Maybe you could go and speak to her?” Steven gently nudged Connie who had her head buried in her phone as she continued to stare at the text messages that her parents had been sending her. There wasn’t a single one that she hadn’t over-analysed in that moment and throughout the night. There was nothing that she could do to get her mind away from what her parents thought of her. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Connie lifted her head and looked across the room at Max who was sitting staring out of the window in one of the much larger armchairs that were situated in the lobby. She hadn’t even eaten any breakfast yet. It was as if she was unable to do anything without thinking about the thing that was important to her going missing - just as Connie had felt about her relationship with her parents. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t think I’ll be able to help…” Connie’s eyebrows dipped at the thought. Her headspace was somewhere else, she didn’t quite think she would have been the best person to help her best friend’s scenario. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Aren’t you guys best buds? I’m sure she’d appreciate it.” Buck tilted his head, he didn’t want to guilt Connie into thinking that she needed to be the one to talk to Max. Although, they had been friends for an incredibly long time and Connie just so happened to know Max inside out. Well, at least she thought she did. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah…” Connie knew that she had to do something to make the situation better. Everyone was counting on her to do something. Just because she was in a different headspace, it didn’t mean that she couldn’t try and help Max out. It was her duty as a best friend to do so. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Steven watched as Connie got up from the seat, making her way across the restaurant to see if she could do something to make sure that Max was okay. All she needed to do was see what it was that was making Max so upset. There was no way that it could have just been about Stephen Space-Wolf. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Connie sat opposite Max in one of the large armchairs that were in the lobby, a small table sitting between them both. The large window beside them looked out on the parking lot of the hotel outside, situated right by a motorway. There was so much to see in England and yet they didn’t quite feel as if they had seen as much as perhaps they should have with the time that they had. There was so much going on that they didn’t quite have the time to do what they wanted. Not all the time, anyway. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Max didn’t give Connie the courtesy to look at her, making sure to keep her palm pressed against her mouth as she continued to stare out of the window. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Everything...okay?” Connie questioned, trying her hardest to be the best friend that she thought that she was. The best friend that didn’t have concerning thoughts about her parents or her future jammed within her mind. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Not really.” Max sighed as she repositioned herself on the chair, tucking her legs up so that she could hug them as she refused to look over at Connie. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Is this about the toy?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Stephen Space-Wolf</span>
  </em>
  <span>. He has a name. It might seem </span>
  <em>
    <span>stupid</span>
  </em>
  <span> to you - but he has a name.” Max scoffed, feeling incredibly offended that Connie would see it any other way. It wasn’t her fault that her best friend didn’t respect the fact that the plushie animal was one of the best things that had happened to her in recent years. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>It felt a little weird to think about. A little weird to say the words. A little weird to be so upset about something so mundane like a stuffed animal, as if she was a kid that had lost their blanket when they went to the park. Except, it wasn’t quite like that. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Stephen Space-Wolf wasn’t just a plushie animal that had made its way into Max’s life when they went on their first tour around the states. The stuffed toy had become a staple part of Max’s life. It represented so much more than what other people could have been able to see. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>For Max, it represented how her past year had been going. From being in the zoo in Des Moines with her best friend to the relationships that she had built up around the band. Stephen Space-Wolf had so much representation and standing within Max’s life that looking in from the outside would have seemed a little strange. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay. I’m sorry.” Connie didn’t quite understand why Max’s tone was so aggressive. There was nothing that Connie could have done to stop the scenario from playing out. It wasn’t her fault that the toy had gone missing. Connie didn't have the time to be pandering to Max's emotions. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Max still wasn’t in the mood to look anywhere that wasn’t out of the large window. She didn’t want to look at Connie. It had been a troubling night when she had practically sprinted in circles around the venue trying to find out where the toy could have gotten to. It wasn’t fair knowing that he could have been anywhere in the building without Max not knowing where it was. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>As far as she was concerned the last time that she had seen him was on top of the merch table happily perched up as he had been night after night throughout the tour. Why would someone want to steal something like that? She should have had her eyes on the table the whole time. If they had managed to take Stephen Space-Wolf then it was likely that someone could have also stolen some of their merch. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Perhaps Max wasn’t very good at running the stand? Would the band hate her? Why would they want her on the stand if all she was going to do was freak out about something that perhaps other people would find weird? Were the feelings that Max had even valid? Was she being an idiot? </span>
</p><p>
  <span>It felt as if that was how Connie felt about the situation. From the way that she had thrown off Max’s comments the night before and how it had taken her until the next morning to even check in on her best friend. Even then, it certainly felt like the only reason why she even got into the position where she wanted to go and check in on her was because of something that the band had encouraged her to do. It felt awful. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Buck suggested that perhaps we go and look at the venue again before we leave.” Connie commented, attempting to make the situation slightly better than it was. Although, it didn’t look as if there was anything that Connie could have done to make anything better. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Max didn’t even lift her head at the idea of going back to the venue. As much as she thought it would have been a good idea - it was probably going to have been a waste of time. She didn’t want to admit that though, it was nice of the band to want to go back to the venue to see if they could find their mascot. He was important to them too! </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Connie sighed heavily, noticing that Max wasn’t going to speak to her. At least, not in a way that she wanted her to. Connie wanted to tell Max about everything that was happening between her parents and Steven. After all, Max was Connie’s best friend and that was just what they did. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So, things have been pretty crazy recently.” Connie began, Max listening contently to whatever she had to say. Max was too exhausted to even bother thinking about the conversation that Connie was attempting to start. “I...um...I got in a huge argument with my parents over a video call. It was...about Steven. Making me feel a lot less comfortable about returning to Beach City.” Connie chuckled nervously. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>It hurt her to say the words out loud. It wasn’t as if they were something that she wanted to speak about, a part of her only saying something shitty that was happening in her life to somehow relate to Max’s situation. Perhaps if Max knew that Connie was also having a bad time they could have had a bad time together? </span>
</p><p>
  <span>They had bad times together in the past. Including, but not limited to the amounts of time that they spent shovelling ice cream into their mouths after having a bad day at college. It was a wonderful combination with either an incredibly sad movie or romantic comedies that they could have laughed at. Sometimes Max would find the movies online that had been rated the worst of their category so that they could turn it on simply to judge everything poor about it. Connie loved their memories together. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh.” Max couldn’t quite think of a response that wouldn’t have been incredibly deadpan and unemotive. Max wasn’t sure how to respond after Connie had suddenly taken her problem and overtaken Max’s feelings. That didn’t seem...fair. It didn’t seem...right. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It was pretty bad.” Connie repeated, once again becoming a little selfish over her feelings. It didn’t seem as if it was intentional, but Connie was blissfully unaware of how she was making Max feel. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Why didn’t her best friend care about how she felt? </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, you said. Sorry about that.” Max refused to even look at Connie. What was the point? Why would she have bothered to have given someone the time of day when they weren’t prepared to have done the same for her? It was interesting to think about and Max certainly wasn’t going to bow down to Connie’s bullshit. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Connie didn’t quite know what to say. It didn’t seem as if Max wanted to share their problems. At least - not at that moment. Max was completely vacant, Connie had seen her go into that headspace a few times before when they had been back in their dorm room, however, she hadn’t seen her quite like this. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Max was going to be okay though because Max had everything figured out. Losing the stuffed animal was just a curve in the very straight road that was Max’s life. Max didn’t have the same concerns as Connie when it came to her future and she could tell. Going to law school meant that Max knew exactly what she was doing. Connie was struggling whereas Max had her shit completely figured out. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Well, that’s what Connie thought. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Do you want to come and join us?” Connie asked, pointing back to the rest of the group who all looked away from her and Max as soon as she turned around. They were attempting to subtly watch them to see if anything interesting were to happen. They wanted to know if Max was okay at the very least. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Max shuffled around in the seat slightly, continuing to stare out of the window and refusing to let Connie in on the emotions that she was feeling. The issue was that Max wasn’t quite sure herself what kind of emotions she was feeling. Whatever they were, she was having a hard time figuring out how to deal with them. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No thanks. I’m fine here.” Max stated bluntly. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Connie gripped onto either side of the armchair. Max didn’t want to help her situation, so there was very little that Connie could have done to aid her. If Max didn’t want to participate with the group then other than sitting around and sulk, Connie didn’t have a friendly remedy for her. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Suit yourself.” Connie spoke in a soft tone, one that may have come across as somewhat hurt if you had read a little more into it. It was frustrating that Max was getting so upset about something so small and yet Connie was there struggling beyond belief over a very real situation.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It sucked that Max was so caught up in her head that she was struggling to interact with Connie in a manner that she deemed acceptable. Frankly, Max was being pretty rude to the rest of the group. Even on some of Connie’s worst days she still made an effort to interact with them all. It was wrong of Max to make it seem as if she was the only one that mattered. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>At least - that’s what Connie thought. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Connie pushed herself up from the armchair and walked back towards the rest of the group, leaving Max on her own. Max made sure that she was looking completely out of the window before she allowed the tears to roll down either side of her face. She didn’t want to open up to Connie about everything when Connie was so torn about the things inside of her head. That wouldn’t have been fair…</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Connie didn’t notice Max’s tears as she walked back to the band, slumping herself back down on the chair beside Steven. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So? Is she okay?” Sour Cream asked with concern, leaning on the table and speaking in a quiet tone. He didn’t want to seem rude if Max were to hear them talking about the situation at hand. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“She’ll be fine.” Connie sighed, pushing her hair out of her face. Max would have been okay. Everything was going to have been fine. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Except it wasn’t. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Steven looked over at Connie with concern in his eyes. He couldn’t help but feel as if something was going on between Max and Connie that he couldn’t quite see. As much as he wanted to speak to Connie about it, he didn’t want to make any assumptions that may have hurt her further. He knew that she was going through a rough time. Everyone was. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The band decided to spend some time in Cambridge walking around some of the historical sites that they were yet to see. The journey from Cambridge to Bedford was under an hour and everyone was a little confused about why Greg would have booked a show in the small town. There wasn’t much surrounding it and it wasn’t as if there was anything to do around there either. Originally, the band had planned on doing day trips to London, but it seemed as if everyone there was so broken up about the things that were happening around them that it was hard to get people to comply with the idea. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The only people that were in a space where they felt they could have done something about everyone else and their mood was Buck, Sour Cream and Jenny. Either way, they didn’t want to do anything with everyone in a mood that could have harmed them all. There was no need to push anyone that may have been upset. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Bedford was a town with very little attributes, but that didn’t stop them from wandering the streets and finding that everything that they had read about it was correct. There were a lot of swans there and the bridge was pretty, but that was the best conclusion that they could have drawn from it all. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>It wasn’t even as if the weather was nice - hammering it down with rain every five minutes didn’t help. It made everything so much more gloomy and sad. Sadder than the town needed to be. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>There was a question that was pondering within Steven’s mind, a question that he had wanted to ask for a while. It would have been wrong to admit that the one thing on his mind since Connie had told her parents was how he was finally free to be a boyfriend. A boyfriend who his girlfriend’s parents knew about. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>It was a weird feeling, considering Connie had a rather close relationship with Greg over the months that they had been together. Steven felt cheated out of that kind of relationship with her parents, no matter how many times she would say something like that wasn’t viable with them. He liked to hope that she was wrong and one day he would have been able to make a good impression. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The main thing was - they knew he existed. That was the most important thing in Steven’s mind at that moment. Connie had sacrificed a lot to make sure that they knew that Steven was her boyfriend and it seemed as if Connie was paying for it, text after text. A part of Steven felt bad about the outcome and understood why Connie may not have originally wanted to tell her parents if that was the kind of response she would have gotten. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Steven was excited. With her parents knowing about him it gave him a lot more opportunity to be within her life, even if they didn’t approve. It was nice to know and with his previous interaction with Garnet and now this - Steven was finding it hard not to show how happy he was becoming. Things were finally starting to work out. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>They were working out to a capacity that Steven would have been able to cope with. In the back of his mind, he was still worried about Pearl. In the front of his mind, his thoughts were being hammered by the idea that once they came home from the tour Connie would have been dragged away by her parents. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>What if telling them had made everything worse when it came to their relationship? Why would Connie have wanted to be with someone that her parents hated when she had always strived so hard to please them? Steven was in the red zone and he knew it. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He knew he had to do something to make sure he was securing a future with Connie the only way he knew how. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>After the band began to set up in the venue, Connie and Steven decided to go and hang out together in the van. Steven knew he wanted to have a conversation about something incredibly important, but was never sure of the right time to ask. There hadn’t been the right time to ask - but now was perfect. Everything was finally falling into place.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Things were going to be different now that Connie's parents knew about their relationship. Sure, it was going to either make them or break them - but the most important thing was that they </span>
  <em>
    <span>knew</span>
  </em>
  <span> and Steven was more than ready for them to advance onto the next part of their relationship immediately. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He was excited! Except, he probably shouldn't have been when Connie was continuing to have a very valid crisis with her parents. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, since your parents are cool with us now…” Steven began as they sat in the back of the empty van together. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I wouldn’t call it ‘cool’.” Connie sighed, realising how fragile her relationship with her parents had become. She was going to go home to a nasty surprise of her parents waiting to scowl at her. She wouldn’t have been surprised if all her possessions had been moved out into the middle of the street. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well...they know about us.” Steven scratched the back of his neck. With everything that had been going on, he deserved this good news. He was just glad that Connie had finally admitted the truth to two of the most important people in her life. As much as that may have troubled her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“They do…” The idea scared Connie slightly. They knew about her relationship with Steven and that was terrifying. He wasn’t one of the many men that they had pre-approved. Steven was Connie’s own choice.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Steven turned in his seat, holding out his palms for Connie as her hands fell into his. He squeezed slightly for a second and half-smiled before looking off to the side. What was he supposed to say? </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Steven's mind was working at a million miles an hour. The only thing on his mind since the previous day had been how desperate he was to make Connie happy after everything that had happened. How was Steven going to have made Connie happy? He wasn't sure what would have been the best option - but he certainly had some things in mind.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Do you like my apartment?” Steven suddenly questioned, squeezing onto her hands firmer as he awaited an answer. Connie wasn't sure where this conversation would have taken her, but it probably wouldn't have been the place that she had originally expected. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, I like your apartment. It’s small...but it’s nice.” Connie smiled, simply being polite about his living space. It was small and had no privacy to it in the slightest. There was no space where either of them wouldn’t have been able to spend time apart, something that she had discovered whilst being there for a week over winter break. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What if I got a bigger apartment?” Steven bit down onto his bottom lip. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That would be nice.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Would you come and stay with me?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Of course I would!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“All the time?” Steven glanced off to the side before looking back into her eyes. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Connie paused, collecting her thoughts. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Fast. Things were moving fast. Very fast. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Wait, are you asking me to move in with you?” Connie’s eyes widened at the comment. It was certainly a request that she hadn’t heard before. Her heart sank and fluttered at the same time at the thought, completely riddled with anxiety. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Why would Steven have asked such a loaded question after everything that had happened the previous day? Was that fair on Connie? He had put her on the spot and she wasn't sure where to go. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Y-yeah, if you wanted to. It doesn’t have to be in Nashville either, it can be wherever you like!” Steven suggested, continuing to hold onto her hands tightly. He was afraid that she would have pulled away at the suggestion. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I know it’s a big ask. Y-you can think about it!” Steven suddenly threw out the option to wait. He didn’t want Connie to have spent too much time pondering the question - he had wished that she had just said yes. That way, he wouldn’t have had to overthink any of it. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m going to have to think about it...Steven…” Connie wasn’t quite sure how to feel about the question. It made her feel incredibly loved that he would have even suggested quite a thing. They would have been near one another all the time. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She quickly imagined how lovely it would have been to have woken up in her bed every morning with Steven beside her. How nice it would have been to have dinner with one another every night. How fantastic it would have been for Steven to have sat on their couch playing the guitar softly as she read a book. How awesome it would be to have their own space, away from college and away from her parents.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s okay! You don’t have to say anything right now! I know it’s a lot. I know that a lot is going on at the moment and I just...I'm excited!” Steven half-smiled realising how much pressure may have been putting on her by asking the question. He would never want to make her feel uncomfortable, despite how much he truly wanted her to say yes. It would have chewed away at him until he heard an answer. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Let me...figure things out with my parents first.” Connie nodded before leaning forward and pecking him gently on the lips. He smiled at her response, a kiss was a somewhat positive thing. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That...makes sense.” Steven rubbed his thumbs against her hands. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But, it would be really nice.” Connie somewhat gave away her preferred answer as she looked away from him briefly before looking back with a wide smile. She didn't want to give him a solid answer. She couldn't have given him a solid answer. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It would.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m not saying no!” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I know!” Steven laughed, hearing Connie’s panic in her tone. It was clear that she really would have liked to have said yes. That was perhaps the one thing that she wanted to be certain on. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She would have been lying if she said that it hadn’t crossed her mind before. Even just being on the tour and being able to wake up beside Steven every morning had been fantastic. She wondered what that would have been like if it was every day...for the rest of her life?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She thought about what it would have been like to make him breakfast or for him to make her breakfast. For them to go grocery shopping together! For them to cuddle up and watch movies together. Even for them to work out utility bills together. It would have been perfect, perhaps everything that Connie had ever wanted. Sometimes it was the mundane things that she thought about the most. They were the things that she wanted in life. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I just don’t want you to think it’s a no. It’s more of a...</span>
  <em>
    <span>not now.</span>
  </em>
  <span>” Connie was shy in her answer. Trying her hardest not to say yes at that moment. It was incredibly difficult when the only thing overruling her saying the word was her never-ending need to be logical in the situation. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Steven was a dreamer and Connie was pragmatic in her thinking. She wanted to make sure there was a plan for everything - especially something that was going to have an effect on her for a long time. Living with Steven would have been a huge commitment. She wasn’t even sure how she was going to have been able to afford to do it when she didn’t even have a job! </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I know, a lot is going on. Maybe...I shouldn’t have asked.” Steven stared down at her hands, a little bit of sadness filling his expression. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He really shouldn't have asked. Not now. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“N-no I’m glad you did! The best bit of news I’ve had lately!” Connie laughed nervously. She didn’t want to admit to that fact and yet that was all that she could think about. Steven asking her to move in with him was great news. She needed to take that and run with everything that she had. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Moving away from her parents would have been the healthiest option and the other option she had other than Max was to move out with Steven. With Max going off to law school it would have been the sensible option to move in with Steven. Her parents certainly wouldn’t have agreed with anything she did, especially not moving in with the boy that they didn’t approve of. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>After all of the texts that Connie had been receiving from her parents, she liked to think that eventually there would have been some time down the line where they would have to warm up to the man. If they did want to have a life together, her parents were going to have to get used to being around him. A part of her was concerned that perhaps her parents would have broken out in rashes if they were around someone that hadn’t attended a school before. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay, well - you’ve got plenty of time to think about it.” Steven looked up with a sweet grin before simply adding, “I’m pretty good at waiting.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>His comment was of poor taste, but Connie tried to swallow it down. It wasn’t worth thinking too much into, but it was certainly a dig at the time that she had spent hiding him from her parents. It was over now! He didn’t need to keep bringing it up, despite it taking ten months to mention him. Sure, it hadn’t gone well and Steven understood why maybe she wouldn't have wanted to tell them - but that didn’t make it hurt any less. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She couldn't help but fear that Steven was being selfish in his actions. He didn't understand what it was like to have parents like hers. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, I know.” Connie looked away with a sad expression, not wanting to get too frustrated with the comment. Steven had certainly gotten frustrated with her for a long time. There was no telling how that had bubbled up inside of him. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m excited!” Steven suddenly inputted, clearly speaking about the prospect of them being able to be together. Steven was having a great time knowing that he was trying his hardest to secure his future with Connie, now that he had figured out his past this was all he needed to do to feel better. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We can get furniture together!” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That would be nice.” Connie smiled, she didn’t want Steven to get the wrong idea. Of course she wanted to move in with him, but that wasn’t something that she could have thought about right then and there. There was still so much going on with everything. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We could go to Ikea!” Steven squeezed on her hands. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We could.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I...can’t wait.” Steven grinned, having no shame in his answers. It was clear he was under the impression that she had said yes. It worried her. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The two of them sat in the front of the van for a while, holding hands as the rain trickled down the windows on the outside. They needed to make sure that they were going to have been prepared for the show at the venue. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Eventually, Steven and Connie made their way out of the van, continuing to hold the other’s hand as they walked towards the venue that was a little walk from where they had parked. Upon entering the venue they were hit with stale smells and as soon as they got onto the floor where they were playing, their feet were met by sticky wooden flooring. They had been to many venues similar, but this iconic venue was truly something else. Despite this, Steven wished they had played in Milton Keynes instead.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Look who decided to show up!” Jenny shouted from up on the stage, a metal barrier separating them both. Steven walked over and leant on it with his elbows, Connie joining him as she glanced around the dimly lit room. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What took you guys so long?” Buck questioned before adjusting his sunglasses. “Wait, no - don’t tell me.” He sighed, assuming it was going to have been an offhanded sexual comment from Casanova himself. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I asked Connie to move in with me!” Steven suddenly waved his hands above his head in excitement. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Connie’s heart dropped at his comment. He was excited, but she certainly hadn’t expected him to have announced that to everyone. She knew that he told the band everything, but she hadn’t expected him to have spoken about it whilst she was still standing next to him trying to figure out her feelings within her mind. Sure, she wanted to move in with him more than anything, but there was far too much going on in the moment to have piled that onto her as well. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Just because Steven was trying to figure things out, that gave him no right to try and push his poor ability to fix situations onto everyone else. It wasn’t fair. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What?” Jenny’s expression dropped, as happy as she wanted to be for him she couldn’t help but notice the disconnect in Connie’s face. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, I didn’t say </span>
  <em>
    <span>yes</span>
  </em>
  <span> yet!” Connie nervously shook her hands out in front of her. Sometimes it was hard to get Steven to hear the things he needed to hear rather than what he wanted to hear. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, no, but it was pretty much a yes. Just...not now. We're still figuring it out!” Steven shrugged, trying to ignore the fact that Connie wasn’t in the moment with the idea. Steven never wanted to be selfish, but there was an ounce of happiness that came from the idea of her wanting to be with him in the future. He couldn’t have let her take that away from him. It was everything he ever wanted and more. It would have been unfair to have done anything more or anything less. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes. Not now.” Connie repeated, attempting to get him to stop talking about the subject. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s pretty cool, Steven. Congrats.” Sour Cream shot him a finger gun from behind the set of drums. There was an awkward silence shared between them all. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Are you coming to soundcheck with us? We kind of need you…” Buck questioned Steven as he continued to lean against the railing in his little emotional bubble. There was nothing that could have taken Steven away from how he was feeling. Things were going to have been so much better now and that was a given. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>At least, that was how he wanted to look at things. Blocking out all of the bad things was the best way to go about everything. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh! Right!” Steven chuckled, realising that he was the frontman of a band and he had a job to do. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>At the back of the venue, Max continued to fold over the t-shirts on the table in front of her. It had come to her attention that through listening to the conversation playing in front of her that her best friend Connie Maheswaren had started to make plans to move in with her boyfriend. Max would have been lying if she had ever said that she wasn’t feeling a little hurt by the actions that she had taken. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Despite Connie saying ‘not now’ to everything that Steven had said - she didn’t hear any of that. All she heard was that her best friend was moving away forever. She hadn’t even spoken to her. She hadn’t even consulted that maybe something like that would have hurt her. Connie didn’t care about Max and it showed through every action that they held against one another. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Every action that made Max feel like shit. Every action that pushed her further away. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Except, Connie didn't owe her best friend anything. Did she? </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Max stared down at the space on the merch table where Stephen Space-Wolf once sat. It wasn’t the fact that she had lost the stuffed wolf, it was more or less the principle about it no longer being there. A piece of her was missing. There was nothing that she could have done to fill the void that was now empty. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Connie sighed heavily, unable to get through to Steven about what he had said. Sure, it would have been fine to allow him to have his moments of happiness, but that didn’t stop the fact that she was currently in pain as she stared down at her phone to more texts from her parents. This time, they were a lot softer in their tone, but it was hard to tell over text as to how they really sounded. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She still wasn’t mentally prepared to have called them back. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Max slumped herself down on the chair at the back of the venue, folding over her arms and looking a little sadder than ever. It wasn’t as if she wanted to be there. She didn’t want to be there one bit. A part of her wanted to make an excuse for not showing up at the show, but she knew that the band wouldn’t have brought it. She didn’t want to disappoint them. What if they hated her for it? </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She had to suck it up and continue with whatever it was she needed to do. There was no shame in backing down, but there was shame in backing down for the petty reasons that hurt her. Every single day had been a nightmare since they landed in the godforsaken country. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“He’s doing that thing again.” Max sighed as she sat on the seat beside Connie, looking over at the band performing their soundcheck. Steven was bouncing around the stage tapping on the guitar, as usual, making sure to show off as much as possible in front of Connie and Max. He was in a good mood. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What thing?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Y’know...the one where he acts like a total fucking dork just to impress you.” Max groaned, keeping her arms folded as she watched the soundcheck. “...As if he hasn’t already won you over.” Max muttered quiet enough that Connie couldn’t hear over the music playing in front of them. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Right. Yeah - he does that a lot.” Connie giggled, trying not to blush at his impressive guitar playing. She wanted to be shameful about the fact that he was trying to show off, but she couldn’t help it. Despite all of the things he had been saying, she still loved him dearly. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She did want them to move in together, she just hadn’t quite expected him to have brought up the subject so soon. Not only that, but she hadn’t thought he would have shouted about it to all of his bandmates. She should have expected something of the sorts. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So, you’re moving in with him?” Max questioned, attempting to make conversation. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I never said that.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It was implied.” Max shrugged, still hurting slightly from the words that he had spoken as soon as they had entered the venue to start. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It wasn’t.” Connie scoffed. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, that’s the impression everyone got. So, are you?” Max tried her hardest to get the words out of Connie. Connie was pretty good at trying to get around the question, but Max had played that game with her in the past. She wasn’t going to have let it fooled her this time. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I never said yes.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But you never said no.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Exactly.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Right, I think I understand now.” Max nodded, looking back up towards Steven tapping on the guitar impressively as he stepped up to the microphone to test how it sounded within the venue. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>There was no hope in Max and Connie having a conversation with the microphone on, but that didn’t matter - they could both stew on what they had previously said to one another. Max couldn’t help but feel as if there was so much that she wanted to say to Connie about the subject, but even just thinking about it was enough to make her frustrated and annoyed by the situation. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>There was so much that they needed to speak about and yet neither of them could have brought themselves up to do it. It was all about supporting each other as best friends and yet it didn’t seem as if they had done that for each other in a while. There was nothing to have pointed them in that direction. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Connie believed that Max was probably still torn up about the stuffed animal going missing, at this point, it would have been a miracle if they found it. They had given the previous venue every single number that they could in case it just so happened to have shown up. It wouldn’t and even Max had come to that realisation. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>There was no way something like that would have come out of nowhere. It hurt to know that it wasn’t coming back, but now Max had other things on her mind to contend with. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Max wouldn’t have been upset about anything else, considering she was pretty excited about finishing the summer and heading to law school. That was certainly something to have been excited about and Connie was confused as to why she could have possibly been upset about anything when she had one of the biggest opportunities in her life to contend with in a few months. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Connie thought it was a given that she would have been slightly nervous about that - which is why Max was acting the way that she was. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Eventually, soundcheck came to an end and it was nearly time for them to have gotten back up on the stage, but this time for them to have been in front of a crowd. Connie stood at the back of the venue and placed her hand inside of the Star Destroyers pile before lifting it and shouting the name as she had done night after night. A part of her had always felt guilty about partaking in the ritual considering she did nothing to contribute to the band other than being someone there for Steven to have written songs about. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>That wasn’t quite the sort of participation that she had expected for someone that had all of the rights as everyone else within the band. Either way, she was happy to have tagged along. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The venue was a lot harder to crowd surf in, but everyone still made an effort to make some kind of mosh pit. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>For the first time - Max didn’t leave the merch stand. She didn’t even stand up and join in with the crowd. Th mosh pit was void of Max. Steven had even looked around the venue for Max on several occasions whilst playing only to notice her at the very back with her arms folded watching the show from a distance. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>It wasn’t like Max in the slightest to not want to participate in the show. She was usually the one that helped hype up the crowd and get them moving. It hurt Max even more to know that they were moving and jumping around just as well without her. It didn’t make any sense. She was always the one to bring the party to places when they needed it. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>As soon as the show was over, Steven pushed his way to the back of the venue so that he could go and stand by the merch table. This time, his intention wasn’t quite to go and see who wanted to buy merch whilst meeting his fans - but was more about wanting to make sure that Max was okay amongst the crowds. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He had never not noticed her inside of the show before. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey, are you okay?” Steven furrowed his eyebrows with concern as he touched Max’s shoulder. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey, Steven! Can I get a picture?” A fan asked politely, yet in a way interrupting Steven’s conversation. Max didn’t bother to look up as she folded a t-shirt before handing it over to a fan who passed her some cash.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Just give me a minute!” Steven smiled towards his fans, desperate to see him. “Crazy show, right? Didn’t see you moshing though!” Steven laughed as he nudged Max once more, wanting to know what it was that was on her mind. He was concerned for his friend. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s thirty pounds, please.” Max continued to do her job, somewhat ignoring Steven’s words. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Max, really. I just want to know you’re okay.” Steven reached out, he had never seen her be so vacant about a show before. She was their number one fan! </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Max tucked the money into a small lockbox before leaning on the table with her knuckles and looking towards Steven. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Look, Steven - I’m fine. I’m just trying to do my job that your dad has so kindly given me, so please, let me do it.” Max sighed, her words were soft and yet held an aggressive tone. Something about her speech irked Steven greatly. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh…” Steven wasn’t sure how to feel about Max’s disconnect. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Steven, can we grab that picture now?” The impatient fan asked once more. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Steven gave Max a sad look. One moment he was trying to make Connie happy, then himself - he didn’t quite expect for there to have been a moment in which he needed to make sure that Max was okay too. Max always seemed to have her things figured out. It was rare for her to have even looked that sad before, she was always so happy in Steven’s eyes!</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Right. Yeah!” Steven turned towards the fan, a fake smile creeping up his lips. He knew that he had to attend his duties as a frontman and that also meant taking photographs and signing merchandise with the people that funded his life. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He was sure he would have gotten an opportunity to have spoken to Max at some point. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Steven was happy, but he couldn’t fill the void without everyone else around him feeling the same way. With Max stuck in her headspace, Steven went about doing his job before returning behind the stage and meeting up with the rest of the band. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>It had been an eventful day and Steven couldn’t wait to cuddle up beside Connie and speak to her about the idea of moving in together, even if that wasn't what Connie would have wanted to have done. They had so much to think about and Steven was excited. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Maybe, a little too excited.</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Been seeing all the lovely comments I've been getting. Thank you, guys! I love this series a lot and I love you!</p><p>I'm sorry Steven is being an asshole LMAO. </p><p>Actually, I'm sorry that everyone is being an asshole. They all have justifiable cases - it's FINE.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0010"><h2>10. Brighton</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>It's time to play arcade games and say sorry.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>“I didn’t explicitly say yes!” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You said ‘not now’, that’s a yes for me - just in the future!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I didn’t expect you to go and tell everyone about it.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I was excited! You didn’t tell me </span>
  <em>
    <span>not</span>
  </em>
  <span> to share the good news.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I didn’t expect you to tell everyone!” Connie repeated, throwing her arm out to one side in her defence as she stood on the opposite side of the bed, Steven directly in front of her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sorry, I don’t take my time telling </span>
  <em>
    <span>important</span>
  </em>
  <span> people about </span>
  <em>
    <span>important</span>
  </em>
  <span> things in our relationship.” Steven folded over his arms and pouted slightly. He knew he shouldn’t have made the comment, regretting it immediately after. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Connie stood in shock for a moment, processing his words. Once again he was bringing up the thing that she knew had hurt him the most. She hadn’t been fair to Steven, but she was certainly paying for her mistake through the disapproval of her parents and how she hadn’t spoken to them in a few days. Nothing more than an ‘I’m fine, I’ll come home when my trip is over’ text to keep them from sending out search parties. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Wow, Steven. That was low.” Connie shook her head, disapproving of his words. Steven’s face dropped, noticing that he had been the one to offend. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Connie picked up her pile of clothes and headed over to the bathroom, she didn’t say a word as she walked away from the slight argument. It wasn’t as if they argued much with one another, mostly about petty things that didn’t matter much. Even then, they were mostly what they would have both labelled as debates. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>This, on the other hand, they both would have considered an argument. It wasn’t something that either of them wanted, but suddenly they found their personalities crashing.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Connie! Come on, that’s not what I meant!” Steven jogged over to the opposite side of the room, only reaching the bathroom door when it was suddenly slammed into his face.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He sighed deeply as he pressed his forehead against the door, holding his hands up above him. He should never have opened his big mouth when it came to these things. He loved her far too much to ever get into fights with her and it broke his heart to know that there were some things that they just had to get through. One of the most complicated things in a relationship and Steven had never experienced anything like it before. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Steven felt himself deflating as Connie ignored him through the door. He tapped gently on the door with his index finger.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Please, I’m sorry.” Steven practically scratched at the door like a pet wanting to come back into the house. He had regretted his words as soon as he had said them and upsetting Connie was the last thing he wanted to do. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Connie stood on the other side of the door changing her clothes, what she had originally intended to do. She listened to Steven’s apologies, he was always so sincere in his words - she could tell when he knew he had made a mistake. Steven could be incredibly stubborn, but as soon as he knew he was wrong he was willing to submit to a new answer. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Connie stared at herself in the large mirror in front of her. The problem with the hotel chain was that every room looked the same, no matter where they went. This meant that every single time they went into the bathroom they would have been met by a mirror the size of the wall. Connie had been getting used to it, but nothing could change the opinions of her body and how she felt in her skin.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We’re going to the arcades today, right? That’ll be fun!” Steven spoke softly through the door, his voice was sunken to a point in which Connie could hear his pain. If she had left him out there any longer he probably would have started crying. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Connie took a deep breath in and stepped over to the door, she knew she would have to face him at some point and sooner was better than later. Steven took a step backwards as he heard the door unlocking, keeping his hands out in front of him as he waited anxiously for Connie to appear. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey, I’m sorry.” Steven repeated with a slight voice crack as if he was nervous about having to say the words to her face rather than through a door. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Connie chewed on her bottom lip as she looked over to him, his eyes were filled with sympathy. He gently held out his hand for her to take hold of. She hesitated for a moment before coming out of the bathroom and holding on. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Steven was still incredibly excited with the idea that Connie may have been able to move in with him once the tour was over. He didn’t want to admit as to how great that made him feel, especially after everything that had happened between them just moments ago. His main goal at that moment was to make sure that she knew that he was going to have been there for her. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He held both of his arms out and allowed her to fall into his chest. It was only when it was happening that Connie realised that she needed that hug more than anything. To be held tightly. To be loved. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I just want you to know that as much as I want to be with you every single day, I’m willing to wait as long as it takes for you to decide on what you want. I know it’s a big decision and I shouldn’t be pushing it on you.” Steven swallowed hard, his words being spoken in a whisper as he hugged her tightly. Connie didn’t want to let go. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I know.” She croaked in response. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s just really exciting now that your parents know and that things could maybe...be different? You won’t have to hide anything from them anymore - right?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I suppose not.” Connie lied. Of course, she was lying. There was no way that she could have gone years with lying to her parents to suddenly being the most honest person in all of existence. There was no way that she would have been able to comprehend the change.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I want to be with you, Connie.” Steven sighed, gradually pulling himself away from her as she looked away. He held onto her shoulder with one hand and gently pushed the hair away from her face with the other. “...I love you.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The words bounced around in Connie’s mind for a while. She had heard them plenty of times in the past, but no matter what she did they always seemed to come back to her with purpose. He did love her and even though he said it a lot, it never lost its meaning. It never felt any less important than the first time he had said it back to her. The first time they had shared the three words. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Connie looked straight ahead at him with a loving look. Of course, she forgave him for his words, she had no right to say anything different. She had spent far too long hiding him in the dark and making sure he was her secret. She couldn’t blame him for wanting to share something about their relationship for once. It was just a shame that it had all come at the same time. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The wrong time. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And I love you.” Connie responded, gently lifting her hand to his arm and holding on. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Steven tilted his head at the words, feeling a wave of happiness flood through him. He knew that no matter what they had to go through they would have always tried to stick together as much as possible. They were in love and nothing would have changed that fact. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I never want to rush you into anything and I’m really sorry if that was how it seemed.” Steven continued to beg for her forgiveness. He never wanted to have to argue with her, even if it was about trivial things. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It...it’s fine.” Connie smiled as she went back in for a tighter hug. Steven held her quietly, thinking to himself that perhaps the words he had used weren’t the right ones. She seemed pretty upset by what he had said. From the way that he had acted. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Are you sure?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, I’m sure.” Connie rested her head on his shoulder as he held her tightly. She needed the hug as things continued to flood through her mind. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>It seemed as if even Steven had more plans for the future than she did. Wanting to move in with her? That was just another plan that she hadn’t quite considered as much as he had. Sure, she wanted something like that - but in his mind, that was something that was in the near future. Something that they would kick into action as soon as they returned from tour. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Why did everyone have their shit together apart from Connie? </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We’re going to have fun today - right?” Steven gently swayed them both back and forth in the hug, realising how little fun they had been experiencing throughout the tour. He missed when tours were simple and not full of sadness. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Loads of fun to forget everything else!” Steven chuckled nervously, realising that he too had been subjected to intense thoughts throughout the tour. They needed at least one day where they could have forgotten about it all. It was important for them to take a break when they needed it. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I could probably do with some fun.” Connie sniffed, although she hadn’t specifically been crying, she still took the time to wipe her eyes. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah! Fun is...fun!” Steven laughed as he held onto either side of Connie’s arms and pushed her away slightly before bringing her back in for a kiss on the forehead. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Fun is fun.” Connie snorted in response, his words just as ridiculous as ever. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sure, fun </span>
  <em>
    <span>was</span>
  </em>
  <span> fun - but it was the people around you that usually made things fun. Travelling down to Brighton was a little bit harder than what they might have imagined. It wasn’t due to the drive as the drive was pretty easy, but the tension inside of the van was another thing to contend with. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Not only had Connie and Steven had a small argument before they had left the hotel, but Max was still in no position to have spoken with anyone about anything. She practically spent the whole time sulking out of the window. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Connie stared down at her phone, continuing to read back through the texts that her parents had sent her. None of them were nice. None of them told her that her parents still cared about her enough to ever see her happy. She had sent them a text to confirm that she was still alive so that they wouldn’t worry, but that didn’t seem to have helped the situation. They just continued to bombard her with texts. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Steven realised that with Connie telling her parents about what had happened she was unravelling years worth of lies. He should have thought more about everything as a whole before continuing to push Connie into the position she was in. He couldn’t help but partially blame himself for the way that Connie was feeling. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You shouldn’t keep looking at them.” Steven suggested as he nudged her phone slightly as they sat together on the backseat of the van. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Connie was leant up against Steven, her head on his shoulder as she stared down at her phone and flicked through the overly aggressive texts her parents had been sending her. It certainly wasn’t fair what they had been typing out, but then again what she had done to her parents may not have been considered fair either. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I can’t help it.” Connie groaned as she pushed her thumb upwards to see more of the texts. All of them about how much of a disappointment she was. So many of them about how she’s not the same daughter who left. How college had changed her as a person. How they’re so upset with her behaviour. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>None of the texts quite outlined what would have happened as soon as she returned home. What would happen to her? Where would she stay? </span>
</p><p>
  <span>It was clear that Steven was already offering his apartment for her to stay in so that she wouldn’t have to go back home. Living with Steven would have been great, but living in his incredibly small apartment would have been bad. She had already spent a few weeks there once before and the tiny room was enough to drive both of them insane. It was cosy, but perhaps not in the ways that you would expect. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>As much as they loved one another - they also wanted some kind of privacy that they couldn’t achieve when they were in the apartment together. It was such a closed-off space that wasn’t even built for one person, let alone two. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You </span>
  <em>
    <span>could</span>
  </em>
  <span> stop looking at it.” Steven suggested once more, knowing that what she was looking at was doing her damage. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I can’t.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, maybe we should watch a movie instead? Catch up on that weird TV show we were watching?” Steven attempted to throw out ways that she could have distracted her mind. It would have been nice to keep her occupied with something else so that she wouldn’t have to continuously scroll through the messages he knew made her feel horrible. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Connie sighed, sitting herself up and locking her phone. She passed it over to Steven and he carefully grabbed it, not quite knowing what to do in that circumstance. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Can you just...take it away from me for a while? It’s not helping.” Connie sighed, making sure to keep the phone as far away from herself as possible. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She was right in understanding and knowing that looking through the messages was not a healthy coping mechanism. She was thankful that Steven understood that and was doing his best to try and help her, despite his demons beating him up from within. All of his demons that suddenly began blaming himself for the harsh reality that Connie was facing with her parents. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sure. I’ll take good care of it.” Steven smiled as he gently placed her phone into his pocket and focused his attention back onto her. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The band managed to get to Brighton pretty quickly. The seaside town was somewhere that each of them had heard of before, but had never been to. With the pungent smell of hundreds of fish and chip shops and the abundance of arcade games and shops that sold sticks of rock - Brighton was different. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>A true seaside town on the British coast. A seaside town that valued its nightlife and alternative rock. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Cool shirts, guys.” Steven pointed out as he noticed that both Buck and Sour Cream were wearing the same t-shirts underneath both their shirt and jacket. They opened up their outerwear to show off the t-shirts that they had gotten in the last place they played. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Both of the shirts were white with the words ‘Bedford Isn’t Shit’ in the middle of a black box. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We got them from the venue last night!” Sour Cream excitedly stated. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“They’re cultural pieces that determine the worth of the town. Rad.” Buck nodded as he showed off the t-shirt to everyone in front of him. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Steven found the writing somewhat vulgar, but the message seemed important. The town that they were playing in certainly wasn’t as bad as everyone there had made it out to be. They probably didn’t get close enough to the bus station…</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Pretty cool.” Connie inputted with a smile, not quite understanding why they wouldn’t have gotten the t-shirts. It was Buck and Sour Cream - they could have done whatever they wanted and people wouldn't have questioned it. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So, we’re spending the day at all the arcades?” Jenny questioned as they all stood around in a distinguished circle. They had previously agreed that spending their time by the seaside would most certainly have consisted of going to the arcades and eating fish and chips. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah!” Steven spoke excitedly, despite everything that was going on - he had been pretty excited about going to Brighton. It was one of those places that he was pretty happy to want to explore. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, let’s go!” Jenny instructed as she forced everyone away from the singular spot in which they were standing. It was time for them to move away from there and make their way down the boardwalk to spend their day having as much fun as possible. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Steven noticed how disconnected both Max and Connie were from the activities that they were participating in. It was as if neither of them had even spoken to one another throughout the many hours that they had been in the same vicinity. It was weird to not see the best friends talking to one another about something random. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>They were both too caught up in their heads to bother with simple interaction. The best friends had nothing to say to one another - especially Max. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Max didn’t want to bring Connie down any further, she was completely wrapped up in the thing with her parents. Completely wrapped up with Steven. It wasn’t as if Connie would have even cared what Max thought about her situation. Max had things going on too and yet it seemed like Connie didn’t even care to give her five minutes of her time to help see her through them. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Max could speak to Jenny - but that wasn’t the same as speaking to her best friend of four years. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Steven took Connie’s hand as they made their way to the arcades. Connie felt a little lost without her phone in her pocket but knew that Steven was taking good care of it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The problem was - she could remember the texts her parents had been sending her word for word. They had stuck within her mind for longer than she would have ever liked to have admitted. The words had stained her head and there was no way of getting them out, no matter how much she tried to distract herself from them. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Remember the first time I beat you in an arcade?” Steven snorted as they stood in the entrance of the arcade. The rest of the band had made their way over to a different section of games, knowing that eventually Steven and Connie would have made their way over. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I remember. I bet you wish you didn’t though.” Connie nudged him in the arm gently, causing him to giggle. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, you’re right. I didn’t know what I was doing.” Steven admitted with a small blush. He truly should have let Connie win at the arcade games that day - then he wouldn’t have had to come up with an awful date idea. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Going roller skating had worked out for both of them in the end. Well, he thought about both of them - it had mostly worked out for Connie. At least she knew how to stand up straight in the skates. It had been a pretty terrifying experience for Steven. He didn’t want to think about it, knowing how embarrassed he had been on the day. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It was a nice day anyway.” Connie touched his chest, attempting to comfort his idea that despite being nearly a year old still played in his mind. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He had mostly let Connie think up the date ideas since then as he was worried he would have gotten it wrong. Steven could have picked anything and Connie would have gone along with it. It was mostly about being able to spend time with one another. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>When they had gone on dates throughout the year they had mostly consisted of things in walking or driving distance from Connie’s college. There was a bowling alley not too far away from where she was staying and they spent a lot of time there together. It was a silly little activity that they enjoyed, but one that never seemed to have gotten old. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>They were both surprisingly good at it. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Connie often won. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So, the plan is - we play loads of games and have loads of fun!” Steven instructed. It was going to have been all about playing as many games as possible with the intention of winning. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Steven was a pretty competitive person and as much as he wanted to let Connie win, as soon as he got into the moment he couldn’t help but storm ahead. He had to do everything he could in his power to beat her. It didn’t help that Connie was also incredibly competitive and whatever they did became a battle. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“As long as you don’t spend loads of money on the grab machines.” Connie sighed, knowing that the machines were rigged and yet still never being able to relay that message across to Steven. No matter what he continued to see if it was possible if he could win a stuffed animal. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I can spend my money however I like!” Steven pouted, trying his hardest not to smile. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Steven, you brought a guitar a few days ago!” Connie scowled, remembering the amount that he still hadn’t explicitly disclosed to her. It didn’t matter - it was a gift. Although, Connie knew that when it came to guitars Steven wasn’t going to buy something cheap. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That was worth it.” Steven nodded. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I do like it…” Connie admitted, feeling a little bad that she hadn’t spent much time playing it since he had brought it. It had spent a lot more time in the back of the van than she would have wanted to admit.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She did want to spend more time playing it - there was just so much going on that meant there wasn’t much time for anything else. Especially guitar playing. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“See, money well spent!” Steven grinned. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Over on the opposite side of the arcade, Max pressed every button on the grab machines as she passed them, walking sadly behind the rest of the band. She didn’t want to be in the arcade. At some point during the tour, she would have loved to have been somewhere like where they currently were and yet at that moment she wanted nothing less. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Max stopped in front of one of the claw machines, noticing the plushie dogs that were inside. As much as she wanted to try and replace the Stephen Space-Wolf hole in her heart - none of them would have been the same. There was something about the stuffed wolf that nobody could have replaced no matter how much they tried.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Want us to give it a go?” Jenny stood behind Max as she noticed her disconnect, staring at the plushies behind the glass. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, it’s okay.” Max sighed, once again feeling stupid that she was so upset about a stuffed animal. Perhaps it wasn’t the small thing that was causing her so much grief? She couldn’t have been that stupid. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Are you sure? We could all pitch in!” Jenny placed her hand on Max’s shoulder as Max shoved her hands into the front of her jeans pockets. Max stared down at the joystick on the front of the machine. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We have a duty to free the beings within the glass hotel that they are trapped in.” Buck clenched his fist as he stepped forwards towards them both, Max turned around and gave him a half-hearted smile.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah! Trapped in capitalism or something.” Sour Cream shrugged, not quite knowing what the collection of words he had spoken meant. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Thanks guys - but it’s okay.” Max sighed with a smile. She was happy that she had a bunch of supportive friends around her that were willing to make her smile. They had made it their mission and she was thankful for it. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Really?” Jenny cocked an eyebrow, trying to turn Max’s opinion and in turn try to make her laugh. It was clear Max was going through a tough time and Jenny would have wanted to be there for her no matter what. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jenny and Max had become incredibly close over the year. Max’s admiration for Jenny was once one that stemmed from infatuation and love for the bassist of the band. Sure, Jenny was super pretty and Max wanted to do everything she could to get to know her - perhaps even get with her. Although, as the first tour progressed, Max had concluded that Jenny was going to have been much better suited as a good friend. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>It wasn’t as if Max’s aromantic ass would have accepted a relationship anyway. Jenny and Max had become close - but perhaps not in the way that people would have expected. Jenny looked out for Max the same way as she looked out for the rest of the band - like little siblings. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Thanks Jen, really.” Max nodded, thankful that her friend had taken the time to try and console her. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Funnily enough - more so than Connie had done. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>That was what was starting to hurt the most. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The band spent a long time hanging out on the pier and everything that surrounded it. From checking out the arcade games to buying copious amounts of rock that could crack your teeth if you ate enough to other sugary sweets. The weather wasn't exactly the best, a grey overcast covered them for most of the day. Enough to not need a waterproof jacket, but enough to make sure that they kept their hoodies on. It was June! Everyone was angry at the weather, but they figured that was just what came with being in Britain.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"So, nearly another tour done. What's next for Star Destroyers?" Jenny questioned as she shared a bag of chips with Max. They were all gathered around a bench by the beach, holding onto their fish and chips that they had brought on the pier. They were there for the authentic British seaside experience and that's just what they were going to get! </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"New album." Buck was quick to comment. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Well, that depends on how fast I can write new material." Steven chuckled, poking a chip with the small wooden fork they had been provided with. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"You'll have that new notebook filled in no time!" Connie nudged him as they sat next to one another. It wouldn't have taken Steven very long at all to have made sure that every line inside of the notebook had something on it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Yeah, I've already started!" Steven smiled, little did he know that Connie had previously looked at what he had been writing and the implications that could have come from the metaphors that she had looked at. Perhaps she had just read too much into it? It was likely. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Nuh-uh, Steven - you've got years worth of songs stashed away!" Jenny commented, knowing that what she was saying was true. Only some of his songs saw the light of day, whilst others not so much. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Let's make a pop album." Sour Cream suggested. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"The mixture of genres would be incomparable, however, it's likely our fans wouldn't see eye to eye with a change of sound." Buck shook his head, completely against the idea of changing things up completely. That would have been a bad choice.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Steven would have to agree, a lot of his solo stuff however may have reached that genre without meaning to. Connie loved hearing him play the things he made for his acoustic sets. His voice was so calming and beautiful. She often wondered why he didn't always sing like that at shows. Maybe it just wasn't as fun? </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Let's just...live with this one for a bit." Steven shrugged, thinking about what he wanted to do next in his musical career. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"No new album?" Sour Cream questioned, his eyebrows dipping in response.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"We can wait a bit - right? It's a lot of work getting an album off the ground and we did so well with this one...besides, don't you guys want to just chill for a while?" Steven explained before asking the question. He pressed the palm of his hand on Connie's knee as he sat beside her. She noticed his touch. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"</span>
  <em>
    <span>Chill</span>
  </em>
  <span>?" Buck tilted his head. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Yeah...y'know...it would be nice to stop for a while."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Wait - are you breaking up the band?" Max suddenly gasped, throwing in her input. The perkiest she had been in a while. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"N-no! I would never. It would just be nice to spend some time focusing on things other than music...for once in my life." Steven smiled, knowing that his comments could have come across as hurting the band. That was never his intention.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He held onto Connie's knee as he looked over at her, catching her eye. What he truly meant was that he wanted to put all of his efforts into spending time with the person that he loved. If she had somewhat agreed to the idea that she was going to have moved in with him then they most certainly had a lot to think about. Times would have been different soon enough and it was a good thing to look forward to. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Steven was thankful that for once in his life he had found some kind of happiness that didn't come from writing sad lyrics or spending his time playing instruments. It wasn't that he didn't find happiness in either of those things, but it was more or less down to the fact that he wanted something different to focus his attention on. It was good to have a variety. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Now that he knew that Connie would have been a permanent addition to his life, his heart fluttered. Sure, there was no telling what would have happened in the way of her repairing the damaged relationship that she once held with her parents. That would have taken a long time to sort out and they both knew that far too well. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Steven didn't even want to begin to think about how long it would have been before her parents even accepted him as a person. That could have taken years. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He had always been jealous of the relationship that Connie shared with his father knowing that it was potentially something that he wouldn't have been able to experience when it came to her parents. It was a shame - considering how much he enjoyed listening to Doug's poor sense of humour when she was on the phone to them when he was in the same room. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Connie didn't reciprocate his touch, glancing down at the way he held her and looking around at the band awkwardly. Of course, she wanted nothing more than to spend her time with Steven. She would never have denied that. The problem was that she certainly wasn't ready to give him any permanent closure when she knew that things could change within seconds. The relationship with her parents was more than fragile and she had to go and smash it all to pieces.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>There was no turning back now. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"He means Connie." Sour Cream whispered over to Buck, gaining nothing more than a slight nod from his friend. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Cool, but if we do go on hiatus - we've got to come back with the biggest and best album yet!" Jenny insisted. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Steven wasn't sure what the future would have held. He wasn't even sure if that was something that he wanted them all to partake in. He wasn't even sure if he wanted to make another album…</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He was sure at one point he would, however, the only thing on his mind currently was Connie and what he could have done to make their lives better. What he could have done to make sure that she was happy - even if he wasn't. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Don't worry, if not - I'll get Greg to help me release my drum and bass solo album!" Sour Cream spoke as excitedly as his voice would allow. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"DJ Sour Cream in the house!" Buck made some strange hand signal. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"We need to rave more!" </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Hmmm, we don't." Steven's eyebrows dipped at the idea. Sure, he loved having fun at parties - but Sour Creams idea of a rave was doing drugs in some field at four in the morning. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Party pooper." Buck commented before folding over his arms. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Connie exchanged a glance over towards Max. They hadn't spoken to one another since everything had gone down with her parents. Connie wanted to speak to Max, but it seemed as if she had a lot going on herself and wasn't quite ready to burdened with it. It didn't even seem as if Max cared. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She did. Max probably cared a little too much that it was hurting her. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Max couldn't help but feel hurt at the idea that Steven was planning to take a break from everything Star Destroyers related just so that he could plan out his perfect life with Connie. She would have said it made her jealous, but that wasn't the right word. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She didn't want what Steven and Connie wanted - she just didn't want to be left behind. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The show in the evening was an exciting one, everyone in Brighton enjoyed the music a little too much. The band had been hyped up by promoters in the area and the show sold out before they had even gotten to the UK. The scene within Brighton was a huge one and they loved every second playing to a crowd that adored them. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Max was beginning to hate the stress that came with running the merch stand and wished that she no longer had to partake in the role that she had agreed to. In a way, it sucked that Stephen Space-Wolf wasn't sitting on the table beside her supporting her through her endeavours throughout the night. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She continued to think about how stupid it must have been for her to have been so upset about the stuffed animal. It wasn't fair that her mind made her feel that way when that was all she wanted to think about. It was all she could think about. That stupid stuffed animal had meant everything to her and having that ripped away was harsh. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Connie hadn't spent the entire night buried in her phone - as much as she wanted to. Steven had made sure to keep it safe so that she didn't spend all her time obsessive over what it was they were saying to her. That was a good thing and she knew she didn't want it back just yet. It was damaging her more than it was doing good.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Steven held tightly onto Connie’ hand as they walked down the side of the beach, something they had decided to do together after they had played the show. Although the town wasn’t quite like where Connie had grown up in, the streets were empty and yet a couple of scenes of nightlife were to be heard in the background of each road. The sea was incredibly pretty, the loud splashes of the waves lapping up against the shore of the beach and the piers that sat up on the beach. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Steven gently rubbed his thumb against the top of her hand. There was nothing that wasn’t hurting them at that moment, Connie had spent all day continuing to panic about the situation with her parents and even more so - the situation that revolved around Steven asking her the question that had caused her heart to sink and question everything. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Why was it that no matter what they tried to do it was as if nobody wanted them to be happy? To lead what they would have considered a normal life. For it to have been the both of them living in harmony in that very moment for the rest of the time they had together. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The only thing lighting either of them up was the streetlamps above them and the moonlight that was hitting against the ocean and reflecting with intent. Connie would have also mentioned something about light pollution, but now wasn’t the time. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s funny, isn’t it?” Steven glanced over at Connie as they walked hand in hand with the cool sea breeze whispering in their ears. They were both wearing their oversized hoodies on a summer night with a clear sky that was perfect for them. Either way, Steven’s hand was incredibly warm and even if Connie did catch a chill, Steven’s natural body heat would have easily warmed her up. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What is?” Connie looked back over to him, unsure of where he was going with his words. There was so much on her mind that it was hard for her to comprehend anything that wasn’t something bad. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, this tour has been…” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Interesting.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, I guess that’s a good way to describe it.” Steven chuckled slightly at the thought. There was nothing wrong with the tour itself. They just so happened to have been in the wrong place at the wrong time. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>They continued to walk, both of them chewing their lips with an uncertainty of how they wanted the rest of the day to play out. They were unsure about what they wanted to do with their walk. In fact, Steven would have done anything to have gotten out of the hotel room late at night. After the show, he was somewhat exhausted, but the worst thing for it would have been to have spent the night wallowing in his pit of self-deprecation as he thought about how much Connie didn’t want to be with him now that her parents had made it difficult. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He continued to think about how perhaps his offer was a little forward. It wasn’t going to have received a good answer and the more he thought about it the worse things got inside his mind. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I just wish things were more like last time.” Steven sighed as he held his spare hand inside of the front of his hoodie, staring down at the floor for a moment as they walked before scuffing the bottom of his new pair of Vans against the gravel beneath him. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Like last tour?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah. It was...things were different then.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s because we were having too much fun falling in love.” Connie snorted at the thought. It was a night to relive the memories inside of her mind, falling in love with Steven had been one of the best summers of her entire life and being with him nearly every tour date was so much fun. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, we were. We had loads of fun.” Steven smirked, thinking back to the summer he had finally fallen in love. He truly believed that Connie was the love of his life, despite only having been with her for little under a year. He would have happily committed anything to her - but he knew that made people uncomfortable. He didn’t ever want to jump the gun. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>So, why did he have to ask her to move in with him? That must have been a mistake. Except, it wasn’t. He very much wanted her to understand where he was coming from and why he would have asked such a thing. He wouldn't have asked if he had any inkling inside of his heart that she would have said no. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She didn’t say no. She hadn’t said no yet. There was still hope and still time for her to have accepted the offer and for them to have moved in together. There was still so much for them to have considered, but in Steven’s eyes, that was the kind of thing that would have solved all of their issues for them. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Although, despite that - it was also something that could have created a lot more issues for them too. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We’re having fun here too, right?” Connie furrowed her eyebrows at the thought, a little bit concerned that the secretive nature of their past during the last tour was what made everything as fun as it was. They loved being together and they loved sneaking around with one another when it came to touring the states. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Steven pondered on the question. Were they having fun? Or at least - had they been having enough fun? Although they had been going on a lot of trips together as a huge group of friends to museums and other fun things, it didn’t quite seem as if it was the same fun that they had previously. There was something that didn’t quite hit the same mark as it used to. In a way - that hurt them both. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We’re having fun - I think.” Steven didn’t quite know how to respond. He wanted to say that they were having a good time with certainty and yet the only things that had been happening on the tour outside of the day trips that they were having were things that nobody would have been able to have predicted. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>From having the fear that someone from his past would have crept upon him, to having Connie not tell her parents about the fact that she was in a committed relationship with him to finally telling them. Connie on the other hand was experiencing some kind of crisis as she thought about what the hell she was going to have been doing with her life. It seemed to have hurt her mind to even think about it. There was nothing that she could have comprehended more. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Connie stopped in her tracks, making sure to hold onto his hand as they stood by the edge of the beach, a black metal barrier stopping them from going any further in the sand. It was such a beautiful night and it would have been lovely to have walked along the beach, although they had opted to walk alongside it as a way to make sure that they didn’t completely get covered in sand. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, there’s been a lot going on...maybe it’s been hard for us to have fun?” Connie looked away from Steven for a moment, making sure to hold tightly onto both of his hands as they stood underneath the moonlight. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Steven stopped. He wanted things to be fun and the look on Connie’s face most certainly pained him as he looked at her. He didn’t want her to be sad. It hurt knowing that she was struggling, just as much, if not more than he was. It wasn’t a competition. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>As the gentle breeze pushed Connie’s hair into her face Steven reached up and made sure to tuck it behind her ear. It looked as if it would have been bothering her. All he wanted was for Connie to have been happy, just as much as she wanted Steven to have been happy. There was nothing that pointed in the direction of either of them striving for anything less than happiness. That was all they truly wanted. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Should we have some fun?” Steven cocked an eyebrow, devising a plan inside of his mind that may have given them both an opportunity to smile and have fun for a moment. Something that would have distracted them for a while. Enough to get their minds straight with happy thoughts and not the ones that had been abusing them every single day since the beginning of the tour and beyond. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What are you suggesting?” Connie tittered, thinking about what he could have been about to suggest. With Steven - it could've been anything. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, maybe we could listen to some music together?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Do you have any earphones?” Connie questioned, it would have been nice to have continued to walk back to the hotel accompanied by one earphone in each of their ears. Steven’s taste in music varied so much that Connie could have simply put on one of her playlists and he would have been happy to listen along. He had played them over and over to remind himself of the things that she liked when she wasn’t around. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I didn’t think we’d need them.” Steven looked around sadly. It wasn’t as if there was anyone else in the vicinity. He pulled out his phone from his pocket and checked the time, taking note that it was incredibly early in the morning. Although, with his plan, it wouldn't have taken long for both of them to participate in the activity that he had planned. He checked his phone again. “We could always just play the music out loud.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We’ll probably get fined for public disturbance.” Connie laughed, knowing that it was at least two in the morning by that point. The walk that they had taken hadn’t caused them to stray too far from the hotel, but it was certainly far enough for them to have to make some kind of trek on the way back. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We’ve been louder outside before.” Steven winked with a small chuckle before going slightly red at his comment. Connie suddenly realised what he was referring to. He swallowed hard - that wasn't supposed to come out the way it did. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Steven!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sorry! Sorry!” Steven laughed with his hands out in front of him, defending himself from Connie’s chuckling wrath. She gripped onto his hands and pushed them back down between them. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So, what’s your super fun plan?” Connie smiled as she swung Steven’s hands slightly. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Steven took a slight step backwards, continuing to hold onto her hands to make sure that there wasn’t a disconnect between them both. Steven wanted to be as close to Connie as possible, except at that moment he wanted to step back to be closer. He smiled at their touches. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Steven let go of one of her hands before lifting it and kneeling slightly. He reached into his pocket and pressed play on the front of his phone screen before rapidly pushing his thumb against the side of the phone to turn up the volume. What played through the phone was a melodic tune that made Connie smile. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Will you dance with me?” Steven questioned as he looked up towards her, placing his phone back into his pocket as the music came through with a tinny sound. Connie couldn’t help but smile, feeling completely taken away by the romantic gesture. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Steven…” Connie chuckled with a smile. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Is that a yes?” He tilted his head as he stood up straight and gripped onto both of her hands. It would have been nice to get away from everything, if only for the duration of a song. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You know I’m not good at dancing.” Connie looked away, the best she could do was occasionally jump up and down inside of one of his mosh pits. She wouldn’t have exactly called that dancing, except it was something that she had learnt to do through her time with being with the band. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That doesn’t matter when you’re having fun.” Steven insisted as he gripped onto her hand and pulled her forward, stepping back onto where the beach was illuminated by the moonlight. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I think we deserve to have fun.” Steven nodded, thinking back to all of the horrible things that they had thought about over the tour. They needed something like this to make sure that they were in a position of happiness. Something they could do that made them feel happy - if only for a moment. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Connie allowed herself to be pulled along onto the beach, not wanting to argue with his logic. They did deserve to have fun. They deserved to spend time together too and doing it at two in the morning under the light of the moon was the best way that they could have done it. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So, you’re going to teach me to dance too - right?” Connie smirked at the thought. They had danced together before in her dorm room and occasionally seen Steven jumping on the couch as Max blasted songs. Connie had no concept of being able to dance that didn’t include flailing her arms just about everywhere in rapid succession. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t know how to dance!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, you do!” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Steven stepped backwards on the sand, reaching back into his pocket and reaching down as he slotted his phone upside down in the sand as it continued to play music. The beat in the song dropped as Steven looked back up at Connie.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You just have to let the music take you.” Steven nodded as he moved his body to the beat. Connie couldn’t help but laugh at his ridiculous movements. They weren’t quite as coordinated as she had expected, the strings of his hoodie swaying back and forth at his strange moves. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Take me where?” Connie questioned, wanting to know everything that Steven knew about dancing. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Steven held out his hand for Connie to take, their fingers slowly interlacing with one another as he nodded once more at her. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Wherever you want it to take you.” He pulled her in closer, close enough that he could have easily have kissed her lips. She pressed her forehead against his as she chuckled, loving how he spent the moment being as silly as possible. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>As the beat in the song continued Steven pushed her back, causing them to both be lost in an abundance of giggles as they danced along to the song playing through the phone. Steven pulled some questionable dance moves that made Connie keel over with laughter, something that she needed very much to see. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Being silly was pretty important when everything around you was crumbling. How the surrounding world battered them every day was harsh and yet at that moment, they were able to lose themselves enough to keep up with how they were feeling. They could safely say that within those few moments they felt happy. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Steven was a little uncomfortable with sand in his Vans, but it didn’t matter. Dancing along to the song with Connie was fun and that was all he cared about. Now and then coming in closer to dance alongside her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>For anyone that were to have walked past the beach during that evening, they would have seen two lovestruck young adults dancing along to the beat of an indie song that was infectious and made them dance like drunk idiots. Connie didn’t care who was watching and neither did Steven. The only people in their company were themselves and that was perfectly okay. That was the best thing they could wish for. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>As the song gradually came to an end, Steven continued to dance around the beach. He did everything from touching his knees to pretending to play an air guitar whilst standing on one leg and hopping in a circle. Connie attempted to copy his actions, causing both of them to laugh harder than they had done with one another in a while. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“How’s my dancing?” Steven questioned, wanting a genuine answer from his truthful girlfriend. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hmm, could probably do with a bit of work.” Connie stroked her chin as the song stopped, leaving the only thing to be heard being the lapping waves against the beach. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What!” Steven gasped dramatically, touching his chest with his fingertips and furrowing his eyebrows. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, I wasn’t feeling it.” Connie tried her hardest not to smile as she held out her palm and teetered it back and forth. She loved teasing him far too much. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay. I see how it is.” Steven snorted. “Well, I thought your dancing was pretty neat.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh yeah?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah! You’re amazing!” Steven couldn’t help but compliment her. It was as if he had a million words to say and half of them were complimenting her. He always wanted her to know how much she meant to him no matter the day. He loved her so much it was hard to say much else. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay, now you’re lying.” Connie folded over her arms as Steven stepped towards her, placing his hands on either side of her arms and looking at her directly in her eyes. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Steven’s eyes glistened in the moonlight, she noticed each of his facial features. From his pursed lips, curly hair and patchy facial hair he was still the most adorable person in all of existence. She loved him so much.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’d never lie to you.” Steven smiled, giving her a genuine expression. The way he spoke was filled with so much trust and understanding. Connie felt so safe with him, it was hard to think about being anywhere else. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>No matter how much she would try to fight with herself in her mind about wanting to spend her time with Steven, she always came back to the same thoughts. Could she picture herself with anyone else doing anything else? There was only one thing that Connie was certain about when it came to her future and that was being with Steven. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>If she could have anything - being with Steven was what it would have been. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I hope not.” Connie laughed as she unfolded her arms and reached up to stroke the side of his face, his stubble attempting to poke through enough for him to need to shave in the morning. His stubble felt rough against her palm, but stroking the top of his cheek with her thumb was cathartic in the best of ways. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Connie?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Yeah?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"We're going to be alright, aren't we?" Steven's expression dropped. They had spent the morning arguing. They had spent the afternoon with their friends. Steven was terrified. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I think so…" Connie couldn't give Steven a straight answer when everything was going on around her. How was she supposed to predict the future when there was a possibility her parents had disowned her because of Steven? </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Whose relationship was more important to protect? </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Both of them - right?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>As much as she wanted it, she couldn't see a future in her head where she was in a committed relationship with Steven with her parents in the picture too. At the moment, it seemed as if it was one or the other. There was no having both. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"You </span>
  <em>
    <span>know</span>
  </em>
  <span> so?" Steven chewed his bottom lip. The answer that he had received from Connie didn't fill him with confidence. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I </span>
  <em>
    <span>know</span>
  </em>
  <span> I want to be with you." Connie corrected, making sure he heard the one thing that she knew she was certain about. She did want to be with him! </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I'm sorry I push you...maybe in ways you don't want." Steven looked off to the side, feeling incredibly guilty about how he had requested for her to move in with him without any prompts. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"You don't push me."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Yeah, I do. I shouldn't have asked about moving in together when there's already so much going on. I shouldn't have told anyone either! How are you supposed to decide something that big when that should be the least of your worries right now? I really do want to move in with you, I want to be with you all the time! However, I'm only willing to do that when you're ready and not before. I'm really sorry, Connie." Steven admitted his guilt, dropping his arms to hold her hands. He looked at her with slight tears in his eyes. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Connie could hear the sincerity in his voice. She also wanted to spend her time with him and ultimately move in with him too. Why wouldn't she? She loved him just as much as he loved her and she would have loved for things not to have been as complicated as they both made them out to be. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"It's okay, Steven. I understand. I want to move in with you too, it's just - there's so much going on!" Connie gave him a look of sympathy. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Yeah, a little too much…" Steven scoffed with half a smile. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Hey, if my parents kick me out of the house I probably will have to move in with you!" Connie laughed, her eyes welling slightly at the thought. She shouldn't have been treated the way that she had done by her parents. It made her believe they didn't care about her in the slightest. Why would they? </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Maybe they loved her a little too much. Suffocatingly so. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Don't say that! It's going to be okay!" Steven brushed his thumb against the bottom of her eye to wipe away a stray tear. Steven didn't quite understand the full extent of the situation. He didn't know her parents as she did. He didn't understand that her actions came with intense consequences that could have detached her from the family for life. She had gone against them and that was a horrible thing. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Connie's bottom lip trembled, but she held back her tears as she fell into Steven's chest at the thought of her parents hating her. They had even stopped texting her after her confirmation text that she was still alive. Considering what has happened between them she was a little concerned that they hadn't continued to send the aggressive texts that made her hate herself. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"You don't know that…" Connie attempted to argue back. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I don't, no. Although, I'll try my best to make sure that will be the case." Steven smiled, he would have done everything in his power to make sure that she was going to be okay. Everything he could do to fix the situation.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He wasn't sure how he was going to do something like that yet - but he was sure as hell going to try every single day that he could. He was going to make Connie happy. He was going to make sure that one day she was able to repair the relationship that he couldn't have helped but feel as if he had destroyed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It didn't matter what was happening - Steven was always terrified that Connie may have left him for reasons that meant she couldn't be anywhere near her family. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The young couple stood on the beach together holding each other tightly. There was so much love that was shared between them that it was hard for them to let go. They needed to keep themselves close. It felt as if the only person they had was the other.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Do you want to go back to the hotel, watch weird internet videos and cuddle?" Steven whispered into her hair, the cacophony of the lapping waves was to be heard in the distance. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Connie smiled at his question, gripping onto the front of his hoodie with both hands as she removed her head from his chest and nodded. Steven smiled before taking her hand and leading her back to the hotel. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>This was an issue that couldn't have been solved in an evening. </span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0011"><h2>11. Southampton</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Max and Connie spend some well-deserved time together. </p><p>Steven reverts back to his old unhealthy coping mechanisms...</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>“It’s bonding day!” Sour Cream cheered. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ugh, I wish you wouldn’t call it that. Don’t you know the implications?” Jenny groaned before covering her eyes with her hands. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, the technical name we use is </span>
  <em>
    <span>Band Bonding Day.</span>
  </em>
  <span> A day where we as a band can bond with one another off stage to deepen our connection and flow amongst the instruments.” Buck explained. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We’re going go-karting, right?” Steven chewed his bottom lip, hoping that they would continue to agree that go-karting would have been the best option for them all. He would have been lying if he said he wasn’t super excited. It had been a while since he had spent time with the band. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sure, spending time was Connie was what he wanted to do every single day, but there was something freeing about being able to spend some time with the band too. It was a great bonding experience for them all and Steven loved his friends. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hell yeah! I hope we get jumpsuits.” Sour Cream excitedly punched his fist in the air. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh man, no more jumpsuits.” Steven groaned, thinking back to the time in which they had made a music video and gone along with Buck’s bizarre vision. A music video with all sorts of strange things - including a vampire as a priest and a groom as a dinosaur. There was no way of trying to describe what that video turned out to be. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I had a </span>
  <em>
    <span>vision</span>
  </em>
  <span>.” Buck defended, immediately knowing what he was referring to. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>On the opposite side of the table sat Max and Connie who had been pretty much silent with one another for days. It wasn’t either of their faults that they had been distracted by things that were going on within their minds. There was so much going on that it was hard for them to keep up. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>It wasn’t that they didn’t want to speak to one another - but they didn’t feel as if they could. At least, Max didn’t want to burden Connie with any more of her problems. It seemed as if Connie had already told her that they weren’t that important. That they didn’t matter.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Although, with the band wanting to spend time with one another it gave time for Max and Connie to rebuild the connection that they believed that they may have lost. One that after no longer living together in the dorm room they had come to realise was starting to fade. They were both terrified of the inevitable, despite neither of them wanting to admit it. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Have you thought about what you want to do?" Connie looked over at Max who had folded over her arms and was currently staring at the floor. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Not really. Have you?" Max looked up, giving Connie a stern expression. Max wanted to give Connie the benefit of the doubt for a while. Maybe Connie didn't know how badly she had hurt Max that night at the merch stand? </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I haven't really thought about much lately." Connie chuckled slightly. She had been thinking too much. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Go figure." Max scoffed the off-handed comment. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Connie wanted to comment on what Max had said, feeling a little put out by her quick wit. Connie wanted to fight back and tell Max how selfish she was being but didn't get the chance to do so as Steven suddenly invaded her personal space,</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"What are you and Max doing today?" Steven excitedly asked as he looked at both of them. It would have been nice for Connie to have gotten her thoughts in check as she did something fun with her best friend. It was the best way for her to have gotten her stress out - at least that was Steven's way of thinking. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Sulking - apparently." Connie spoke from the side of her mouth as she glanced over at Max who scuffed the bottom of her boot against the floor, anxiously awaiting Connie's commands. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Oh. That doesn't sound like fun." Steven chewed the bottom of his lip nervously. "Are you sure you're going to be okay? You can always come with us!" </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"N-no, this is your band day! Besides, me and Max haven't hung out in ages!" Connie groaned a little louder so that Max could hear her excitement about them spending time with one another. Max perked up at the sound. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>They hadn't hung out in a long time...there was probably a reason for it. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Oh right, yeah! Well, I hope you guys have a load of fun!" Steven grinned as he gave them both a thumbs up before kissing Connie on the cheek. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Don't die on the racecourse, guys!" Max waved as the band spun on their heels and made their way over to the van, leaving Max and Connie stuck in the middle of Southampton. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"No promises!" Buck clicked his fingers together. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The drive along the southern coast of England had been a drag - as per usual. Despite driving a lot less in the UK, Jenny couldn't help but feel as if the journeys took a lot longer. She was wrong. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>A part of Max was jealous that everyone else got to go go-karting whilst she was stuck with Connie being miserable. It wasn't that she didn't want to spend time with her best friend - but things had certainly been tough between them since moving out of the dorm room together. Both of them had been so distracted. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"So, no ideas?" Connie asked as she stood beside Max whilst they watched the band disappear. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"We don't have to do nerdy shit, do we?" Max asked, she loved nerdy shit as much as the next person - but her mood said otherwise.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Nope. I mean, technically now my parents know I'm a lying disappointment we don't have to do any nerdy shit anymore. We kind of had to fill a quota last time." Connie laughed, making Max snort at her words. Although, they both loved going to the museums and everything that surrounded them. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"So, no ideas?" </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Nothing." </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Max rocked on her heels, awkwardly stood beside Connie as if they were waiting for a bus. She touched her hands together before sighing deeply. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Southampton has a pretty big dock. Want to see some huge-ass boats?" Max asked, suggesting something for them both to do. It wouldn't have been the same as a museum, but it sure was some kind of nerdy activity. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"You sell it very well." Connie nodded with a smile, it felt as if going anywhere was Max was an adventure. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>After they had spent the last couple of days being incredibly awkward around one another, Max and Connie finally had an opportunity to bond with one another that wouldn't have been passive-aggressive. At least, they tried not to let it be. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Connie didn't quite know what Max's problem was and why it felt as if she was treating her differently, yet Max wasn't quite sure how Connie was so oblivious to the world around her. Sure, they both had a lot going on in their heads - but that was never an excuse to be a dick. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The two friends made their way through the town, attempting to make small talk with one another as they walked. There was a certain tension between them that had never been there before, as much as they were still enjoying speaking to one another - their conversations didn’t seem to flow the same way that they used to before the tour. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>They had grabbed sandwiches from a local sub shop and had taken them to a bench by the docks to eat. Connie was starting to miss Max’s offhanded comments about little things in the world around her. They seemed to have been missing from the last couple of conversations that they had been having. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Max readjusted the beanie on the top of her head as she stared out at the horizon in the distance, boats practically blocking most of the view. Connie sat on the opposite side of the bench, their conversations had been incredibly blunt in comparison to what they usually spoke about. It was odd - it felt as if Max hadn’t made an effort to make her smile the whole time that they were out together. Max usually made it her mission to make Connie smile when she was down and yet there didn’t seem to have been any attempt at all. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Then again, how was Max supposed to help Connie smile when she was struggling to figure it out for herself? </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Things are pretty crazy at the moment, right?" Max attempted to bring up a conversation that should have been had a while ago. Max was desperate to repair what little friendship they had left after being so awkwardly left out in the cold. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sure, Max felt bad about the way she had acted based on Stephen Space-Wolf's disappearance. However, she disliked the way that Connie had treated her. Although Connie was her best friend and Max felt as if she could have let a few things slide if they were going to have spent more time together without being criminally awkward. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Yeah, things are…" Connie glanced over at Max and noticed her looking out at the boats in front of them. She had never felt this way around her best friend before. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Distant. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’ll be weird not being in college next year.” Max stared down at her hands. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But you’re going to law school.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s not what I meant. I mean, in college - with you. Roomies or whatever.” Max shrugged, somewhat struggling with the concept. She knew that the day would come, but she wasn’t quite sure when. A part of her hoped that she could have taken Connie across the states with her. They could have been roommates for college and beyond. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, it sure is going to be strange.” Connie sighed as she held herself, a little uncomfortable as she sat on the bench next to Max. It was getting cold out. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’ll be fine though. You have Steven.” Max bit down on her lip, she had done everything she possibly could to not lose her best friend to a boy. A boy that she had introduced her to. Except, that was just what happened. Max always knew it would have turned out that way in the end, a part of her was happy that Connie had someone else when she left for law school. She didn’t like the idea of Connie being alone. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I don't know…"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Wait! You're breaking up?" Max spoke in a shocked tone, not wanting the glimmer of hope in her expression to shine through. She suddenly felt like a horrible person for the thought. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"N-no! Of course not! It's just... a lot is going on and I don't think he understands it all. Then again, I find it hard to relate to him when it comes to his past and y'know...being famous. I just don't think he understands what it's like to have parents like mine or an uncertain future. He likes to get ahead of himself and I'm not sure that I can keep up!" Connie gritted her teeth together as she stopped venting her issues, or at least her problems with Steven in that moment. She didn't want there to have been any issues between her and Steven. That wasn't fair on either of them. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She shouldn't have been discussing it with Max. Then again - who else was she going to have spoken to about it? </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Strange. I thought you guys were going to be together forever." </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"We are!" Connie defended. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Sounds like teething problems."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Do you want us to break up or something?" Connie furrowed her eyebrows at Max, a little concerned her best friend was hiding how she felt about her romantic relationship. That had nothing to do with Max. It was none of her business how their relationship was. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I never said that!" Max snapped back before sighing deeply. Connie was putting words into her mouth. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Connie thought about her words for a moment before slumping backwards on the bench. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Max sat on her hands and stared out at the passing ships making their way through the port. They were huge. A part of Max internally questioned what it would have been like to go away for a long time on a boat - away from reality. She often felt like that but wondered what the physical implications of it would entail. She probably would have gotten seasick. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I thought things would be different this time..." Connie sighed in response. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"...And I guess I was stupid enough to believe that nothing would change." Max chewed on her bottom lip in frustration. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Things are different now, aren’t they?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I wish I was more like you.” Connie admitted with a small sigh, not ever wanting to come to the conclusion that she had drawn within her mind. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You what?” Max’s eyebrows dipped at her comment, there was no way that Connie had said something so out of the ordinary. There was no way that she felt that way. Nobody would have wanted to have been like Max. There was nothing there. No attributes that she believed anyone would have wanted. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>No confidence. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You just seem to have everything figured out! I don’t get it! How could you possibly just...know?” Connie raised her voice slightly, unable to control her tone as she spoke. There was a hint of anger there, a hint of frustration. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>It wasn’t completely directed at Max - she was angrier with herself and her inability to make decisions or understand what she wanted in life. To understand why she did the things that she did. An understanding of why she felt the way that she felt. The emotional turmoil that refused to stop within her mind. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>There was nothing that could have made any of this better. She was struggling to figure out what she wanted in life. Struggling to understand the consequences to her actions or how her life was going to have played out. What was she supposed to do with her life? </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Connie, I don’t know a damn thing about anything.” Max shook her head, a little bit unsure as to what Conne was referring to. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You have a plan. You know what you want to do with your life and you’re going to do it.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Do I?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You know everything, Max! You always know what to do and what you want in life. You don’t let anyone stop you from being </span>
  <em>
    <span>you</span>
  </em>
  <span>!” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And you think that’s easy?” Max suddenly spat, taking Connie by surprise. Everything had been building inside of her for weeks. Did Connie really think that being her was easy? That as soon as graduation was over she had everything figured out? </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You think it’s easy for me to be me? In a world like this? In a world where people just don’t give a shit about other people? You fight with what you’re given, it shouldn’t be that way - but it is! Fuck this planet and everyone in it! You don’t have to conform to any of that and you know damn well you don't have to. My life is a fucking mess, Connie, but we don’t ever speak about that because I’m too caught up in my head. I try to make things better for me and other people by being myself because that’s what makes me happy and for some reason, I can make other people happy too. That’s what makes me </span>
  <em>
    <span>me</span>
  </em>
  <span>, but don’t ever think for a fucking second it’s </span>
  <em>
    <span>easy</span>
  </em>
  <span>!” Max snapped, Connie had never seen her rant how she had done, suddenly feeling guilty for being somewhat selfish about her problems. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Max…I never said-” Connie sighed, unsure of what she could have possibly said to have made things better. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Fuck this noise, it’s always about you! Can’t you listen to me for one goddamn second?” Max’s bottom lip trembled as she attempted to keep her cool. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The words hit Connie dramatically, an unbridled rage building inside of her that was suddenly tapped. Was that what Max really thought of her? That all she ever did was talk about herself? Talk about her </span>
  <em>
    <span>own</span>
  </em>
  <span> problems? Connie had remembered countless times where she had sat through copious amounts of Max’s bullshit. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Connie stood up from the bench, taking a deep breath as she stared down at Max. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Me? You think this is always about </span>
  <em>
    <span>me</span>
  </em>
  <span>?” Connie touched her chest, ready to explode. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, of course, it’s always about you!"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Always about </span>
  <em>
    <span>me</span>
  </em>
  <span>? You always make me do things that I don’t want to do. I’m always picking up after you, Max. Every single little thing that you do, I’m always there to help you out. I can’t believe how ungrateful you’re being when I’m always bending over backwards to take part in whatever bullshit you have planned next. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Where’s Max going to drag me today? What horrible adventure am I going on today? Are we going to get arrested? I don’t know! Nobody knows!</span>
  </em>
  <span> I’m sick and tired of always being the one to pick up the pieces. I’m sick of always being caught up in your self-entitled bullshit!” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What? What the fuck are you talking about? See, this is what I mean! It’s always about you and how you feel! I never asked you to do a damn thing.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re always pushing! There’s not a single time when you’re not pushing me to do something that I didn’t want to do.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Like what?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You made me lie to my parents, Max. Not just once - time and time again!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I didn’t </span>
  <em>
    <span>make </span>
  </em>
  <span>you do anything.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What about that time you got me to drink so much that I was sick out of my nose at that house party? Or the time that you made me go to that stupid seminar with you where they called me out and I was the butt-end of every joke? Or that time you pushed me to lie to my parents enough to go and see some </span>
  <em>
    <span>stupid</span>
  </em>
  <span> emo band across the god damn country? I didn’t even want to go! You pushed and you pushed and you wouldn’t stop until I gave in. I didn’t even get to make my own decision. You just kept going on and on and guilt-tripped me into it!” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Don’t give me any of that shit. You weren’t complaining about it when you got with Steven. I didn’t expect you to fuck the frontman! Not one god damn bit! You can’t come in here and tell me that you didn’t want to go on that tour, it was an opportunity of a lifetime and you took it! If you didn’t like it you wouldn’t be across the damn ocean in ass-butt England! Except here you are, following your boyfriend across the Atlantic because you’re </span>
  <em>
    <span>soooooo in love</span>
  </em>
  <span>.” Max mocked.  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I </span>
  <em>
    <span>never </span>
  </em>
  <span>wanted to go on any of these trips. You promised me something completely different and instead we got...this! An absolute joke where everyone panders to your every want and need! You always have these awful ideas that you think everyone wants to do, but they’re terrible! Nobody wants to hear you go on and on about music or some other thing you’ve absorbed your whole life into as everyone around you suffers the consequences of that. You got so upset over some stupid stuffed animal and you think you’re going to be good in a court of law? Going to some kind of fancy law school isn’t going to change the fact that you don’t know what the fuck you’re doing with your life either!” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Y’know what, Connie? Fuck you!” Max spat with venom in her tone, pointing aggressively towards what was once her best friend.  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"You're mad because I'm telling the truth?" </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I'm mad because you're doing that thing you always do!"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"What?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Reflect all your problems onto other people so that you don't have to deal with them. Sort your own shit, Connie! Stop bringing me into it like I know what the fuck I'm doing! And fuck you for saying that shit about law school! You have no idea what you're talking about, but maybe if you listened to me for five minutes you might realise that you're not the only one with things going on!"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Connie finally noticed the tears welling in her friend’s eyes, something that she had done to her. Connie’s expression dropped as she thought about what she had said and how each word could have been used to hurt Max’s feelings beyond repair. She was mad and at that moment was willing to do anything to get back at her. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Perhaps, Connie had taken things a little further than she needed to…</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Max...I…” Connie attempted to reach out to Max, realising the damage had already been done. Max immediately stepped backwards as a way to avoid Connie’s comforting touch.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, you don’t get it! You don’t understand because you don’t care. You’re always so caught up in your own drama. All I ever hear about is you and Steven, all the goddamn time. I’m sick of it! I’m sick of being treated like some goddamn sidekick in your bullshit love story! I don’t want to hear any of it. Ever.” Max sighed heavily as she stared off to the side. “I thought...I never...I didn’t expect him to be permanent.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What are you talking about?” Connie gave a clueless expression.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Steven! Steven Universe. I love him like a brother, but man has he made my life incredibly difficult. You’ve both made my life difficult. It doesn’t matter because all I know is that as soon as this is over you’re going to go and bitch to Steven and tell him how much of a heartless person I am for admitting the truth. I’ve put up with it for so long. Too long. I don’t think I can put up with it anymore, you’re both so </span>
  <em>
    <span>annoying</span>
  </em>
  <span>.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Wow, that was uncalled for.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Are you going to go and crawl back to Steven now?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, screw you!” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So, that’s a yes?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Interesting techniques coming from someone who wants to practice family law. Is this how you’re going to speak to your clients? </span>
  <em>
    <span>Real professional</span>
  </em>
  <span>, Max.” Connie dug a little deeper, attempting to get under her skin. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh boy, I’ll be the first to offer my services when things come </span>
  <em>
    <span>crashing down</span>
  </em>
  <span>!” Max spat, pressing her foot harder on the floor. Connie was finding it hard to understand what she was referring to. She didn’t want to think too deeply into it. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What’s the matter with you? Are you jealous?” Connie questioned in a harsh tone. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Jealous? What are you talking about?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You seem to be pretty caught up on my relationship!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s because ever since you met Steven you’ve been so caught up in your own world that you’re completely unaware of what’s going on around you! ” Max clenched her fists together, digging her fingernails into the palm of her hand. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m not unaware.” Connie scoffed. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay, so you don’t care about anything or anyone then. Get out of your own head.” Max tapped her temple. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s rich coming from you!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sorry I’m not perfect,</span>
  <em>
    <span> your highness</span>
  </em>
  <span>. I can’t help being a </span>
  <em>
    <span>bitch</span>
  </em>
  <span> when my friend thinks everything is about her.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m not listening to this.” Connie sighed as she folded over her arms and spun on her heel to make her escape. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Steven’s not going to help solve the problem when you </span>
  <em>
    <span>are</span>
  </em>
  <span> the problem. You can’t always rely on other people - they’ll always let you down.” Max shrugged, her words causing Connie to spin around once more. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Steven would never let me down.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“He wouldn’t - but that doesn’t stop you from letting </span>
  <em>
    <span>him</span>
  </em>
  <span> down.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Connie’s heart skipped a beat at the comment, her stomach dropping as she heard the words being spoken from her best friend. Was that really how she felt? Was Connie going to let Steven down? </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Had she already done that? He was always there to comfort her, he was kind and loving - he would never have let her down. But had she let him down? Even if she did, it would never have been intentional. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Not telling her parents. Moving in with him. Little things that turned into huge problems. Maybe it was her problem? Maybe she </span>
  <em>
    <span>had</span>
  </em>
  <span> let him down?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Maybe she was the one who was the problem?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Leave me the hell alone, Max!” Connie yelled as she pointed at Max once more and clenched her fists before turning on her heel and walking away at a quickened pace from the scenario. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah yeah, I’m sure Steven is going to love dealing with your bullshit! He's probably going to write a song about it!” Max raised her voice as Connie began to walk away from the situation that had just played out.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Max took a deep breath as she continued to dig her fingernails into her palms, glancing up towards one of the huge cruise ships that were about to dock. Oh, how much she would pay to just leave. Forever. She watched as Connie walked away as fast as she could. Max slumped herself back down on the bench and sighed heavily, tears welling in her eyes as she tried her hardest to wipe them away.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Connie folded over her arms as she walked back to the hotel, the slight breeze causing her face to be cold from where her tears had trickled down each of her cheeks. She didn’t know where she could go to be alone other than the hotel room. A part of her hoped that Steven hadn’t come back yet, she didn’t want to pander to Max’s ideology that she would have been running back to Steven as soon as the moment came around.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She had to compose herself before she got back into the hotel room, but was struggling to stop herself from crying as she paced through the hotel corridors. She didn’t want anyone to see her, despite someone probably already seeing her as she walked. At least nobody had questioned her as she desperately swiped her keycard against the door and found herself inside of the empty hotel room. Steven was still out with the rest of the band. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Connie slumped herself down on the end of the bed and covered her eyes, crying deeply into the palms of her hands. Why was everything so difficult? There wasn’t a single thing that had been easy about the journey abroad. Nothing about this trip was as exciting and as fun as the first. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Everything felt a whole lot more real. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>As much as Connie wanted to call Steven and vent all her worries, she couldn’t bring herself to do it. She wanted Steven with her there to cuddle up to, to cry into his shoulder. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>That was exactly what Max had suggested. It was exactly what she was talking about. Being with Steven meant that she never had to face a problem alone, which didn't seem like a bad thing at first - but the way that Max had put it made Connie feel small. It made her feel as if she had made her whole life revolve around...Steven. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Maybe she had? </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Had love made her blind? Blind to all of the things around her. Blind to how it would have made Max feel? Blind to even how her parents felt? </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Max was her best friend and had been for the past four years. They had petty arguments with one another in the past, but nothing was like what they had just experienced. This was something that would have been a lot harder for either of them to have come back on. Was everything she said what Max really thought about her? Especially about her relationship with Steven. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Connie crawled into the bed and sobbed into the pillow, there was no way of being able to fix the broken foundations of the building surrounding her. How could she have been so oblivious to their crumbling friendship and how Max truly felt? It wasn’t fair on Max and Connie should have opened her eyes.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She was always so caught up in Steven that it was hard to notice the other relationships that surrounded her. Including Max. Including her parents. She had made a huge mistake. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>How were her parents ever going to forgive her for the way that she had acted over the phone and the things that she had said? Why would Max ever forgive her for the things that she had said? She didn’t deserve pity from either of them, she had isolated herself for the sake of Steven and she knew that was wrong. Just because she was with Steven, it didn’t have to mean that her whole world around her would have to disappear. People in the world cared about her other than Steven. She should have had the brain capacity to realise that fact. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She hoped that Steven wouldn't come back and see her so upset, she needed to get ready for the show in the evening. There was so much on her mind she found it hard to even stand back up and make her way to the shower. Connie needed to calm down and control her thoughts, but they were incredibly overwhelming. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>As Connie showered she managed to compose herself enough to stop crying. When she stepped out of the shower she stared at herself in the mirror for a moment, her eyes were puffy from the tears that she had wept. Nothing about the situation felt good. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>When she stepped out of the bathroom she jumped slightly at the sight of Steven sitting in the corner of the hotel room gently strumming on the acoustic guitar that seemed to have followed them everywhere. For Connie's present - Steven sure played it a lot. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"When did you get back?" Connie practically gasped, wearing nothing but a towel wrapped around her. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Oh, not too long ago. Just came back to get ready, but I'm already...ready." Steven chuckled lightly as he continued to push his thumb against the strings of the instrument. The sounds it created were beautiful, but Connie didn't quite need the musical accompaniment. She hoped that if she stood far enough away from him, he wouldn't notice her red eyes from the hour she had spent crying. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Did you...have a good time with the band?" Connie questioned, attempting to make a brief conversation as she picked up her clothes off the end of the bed. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Yeah! Buck is really good at go-karting…" Steven scratched his head with a small laugh reminiscing on the afternoon he had spent in a go-kart whizzing around the track. It was nice to do fun activities with the band. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Cool..." </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"How about you? Did you and Max have a good time by the docks?" Steven questioned with sincerity, only wanting to know how her day was. Connie glanced away for a moment, she never wanted to lie to Steven - but she needed to. Right now, he probably would have let it slide. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Y-yeah! It was really fun.” Connie regrettably lied through her teeth. She wasn’t prepared to admit that they had managed to find themselves in a huge argument that could have meant the very end of their friendship.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Connie had said some pretty nasty things. Then again, so had Max. Neither of them was in the right. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Awesome! I think boats are super cool.” Steven grinned, trying to make some kind of association with whatever it was that she had done with Max. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, they were pretty cool.” Connie half-smiled, wanting to pander to whatever it was that Steven was talking about as a way to try and get him to be a part of the conversation. She couldn’t help but feel as if she had left him out by not spending the day with him. Except, every other day had been spent with him. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Maybe it wasn’t such a bad idea to go a day without Steven? Although, that didn’t seem to have ended well for her. Not even her best friend wanted to spend some time with her and that hurt too. How was she supposed to comprehend when she wanted to be with Steven when a part of her wanted to be with him all the time? </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Steven placed the guitar by the side of the chair and politely cracked his knuckles, it had always been somewhat hilarious to Connie that his hands didn't make much noise. He shuffled to the edge of the chair and pulled out his phone before insisting that Connie come and check out some photographs he had of him and the band at the track. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Connie was still poorly wrapped up in the towel, denying Steven's request as she grabbed her clothes and took them back into the bathroom. Steven sat in the chair awkwardly flicking through the photographs himself as he waited for her to come back out of the bathroom. All he wanted to do was to share his experience with her and it suddenly felt as if she wasn't all that bothered by it. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Steven knew that Connie had been going through an incredibly tough time and he was willing to make sure that he could have done everything in his power to keep her happy. Unlike all of the other times that she had spent with Max, this time certainly seemed different. Connie would have usually jumped at the chance to share what she had done with her day - especially when she spent that time with her best friend. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Steven eventually got the chance to show off the images of the band in blue jumpsuits before they went go-karting. They all looked incredibly sweet together and admittedly, the photo did make Connie smile. It was nice for them to have spent the time together, knowing that all of them were best friends. Best friends like her and Max. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Connie knew that sometimes the band argued over little things. They were best friends - it was normal to disagree with them about things now and then. However, she had never heard of them having a huge fight with one another. Not anything like what she had just witnessed with Max. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She figured that the only thing to have broken them apart enough was whatever had happened to them all in Portland. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>It wasn’t long before the start of the show, the time that Connie had started to dread. She knew that by going to the show she would have seen Max again, but they had all been in walking distance of the venue and decided to get there that way instead. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>When Connie arrived, she spent a long time looking around for Max - thinking that perhaps she was just running a little late. It was strange to look to the back of the venue and not have Max standing by a small table unpacking lots of clothing items. Instead, the crew had carried the boxes in from the van outside and thrown them underneath the table and around - but nobody was there to unpack them. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Where’s Max?” Connie threaded her fingers together as she looked up at the stage towards Jenny who was taping down a wire. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, she said she wasn’t feeling well and headed back to the hotel. Bad egg salad sandwich or something. Didn’t she tell you?” Jenny cocked an eyebrow, a little bit confused as to why Max wouldn’t have told her best friend that she was dipping for the night. It was incredibly unlike Max to skip out on a show. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No.” Connie chewed her bottom lip, the guilt within her suddenly building. Max hadn't even eaten an egg salad sandwich - she should have gotten better at creating believable lies. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh. Weird.” Jenny shrugged before continuing to tape down the loose wires. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Connie stared down at the floor, thinking back on an awful day that she had just experienced. Her best friend was avoiding her so much that she was willing to skip out on seeing her favourite band. Max would never have missed out on a show if she could help it. Connie truly had done something wrong. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>This was all Connie’s fault and she would have been lying if she had said that she wasn’t feeling guilty about the whole ordeal. She didn’t deserve someone like Max as a friend. Then again, Max had been selfish too. Only thinking of herself and the plans that she wanted with Connie, never considering what Connie wanted. She was stuck in a whirlwind of being guilty about what she had said and then being incredibly mad about Max's responses. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Connie had been just as horrible to Max. Neither of them was in the right with their actions. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Connie huffed at the thought. A part of her wanted to go back to the hotel and drag her so-called best friend out of the hotel room and force her to come and see her favourite band play. Force her to-</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So, I take it you’re good to watch over merch tonight? Since, y’know...Max is MIA.” Jenny asked as she stood up and looked over the stage down at Connie. Connie looked up and scowled at the thought before correcting her expression as quickly as she could. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I don't think-"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"You don't have to do all the singing and dancing like Max, although the fans appreciate the effort. Just be careful, I think we're running out of mediums in the Stephen Space-Wolf shirt. People dig that!" </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Uh, I really don't-"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Everything is under the stand, except that cute fanny pack Max sometimes wears with the pins on it - that's back at the room. You'll have to use the money pot instead." </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sure, but I-”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Thanks boo, you’re a really good friend!” Jenny grinned before continuing to complete her task on the stage. Connie couldn’t argue with her any more - she didn’t have the energy. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She certainly wasn’t in the mood to be perky enough to have run something like merchandise. It was Max’s fault for throwing her in the deep end. She quietly cursed her underneath her breath, still mad that they had just been fighting only hours ago. Connie had been experiencing a lot of emotions regarding the whole experience. Most of which were bad. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Connie would have only done merch because the band needed her to - but it wasn’t fair. Connie wasn’t an employee of Star Destroyers...she was Steven’s girlfriend! There was no need for her to have been a part of the show, there was no way that she would have been able to run the merch as well as Max. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sure, she had seen Max doing it plenty by this point - except it would have been weird for her to have hung around at the back with Steven as he met his fans. She never did that. She never liked seeing it as admittedly, it made her a little uncomfortable to watch. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Why were there so many t-shirts with so many stupid designs? Well, she didn’t want to admit that they were stupid - they were designs that Max had approved of. Designs that were mostly her vision for the aesthetic that she believed the band would have pulled off. She was right, but that was beside the point. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Seems pretty in</span>
  <em>
    <span>Con</span>
  </em>
  <span>venient for Max not to be here.” Buck leant on the side of the merch table and spoke deeply, adjusting his sunglasses slightly. Connie ignored his pun - Max was the only one who could use the first two syllables of her name to tease her. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Tell me about it.” Connie sighed as she folded one of the t-shirts for the third time. She couldn’t get it right. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I heard she got food poisoning - that’s pretty gnarly.” Buck spoke bluntly. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, </span>
  <em>
    <span>food poisoning</span>
  </em>
  <span>.” Connie rolled her eyes, not believing the lie for a moment. She knew that the only reason why Max wasn’t there was because they argued. There wouldn’t have been any other reason why. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Even still - she was a little surprised that Max wouldn’t have bothered to come out to the show. It was incredibly unlike her not to show up to one of the gigs that Star Destroyers played. There was that one time that she couldn’t go to one of Steven’s solo shows with Connie, but other than that - Max had made it her mission to make sure that she made it to every one of their gigs. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Seems a little suspicious to me." Buck commented, straightening his collar. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"What?" </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Max Kayori would never miss a Star Destroyers show." Buck shook his head, a little unable to believe that their biggest fan wouldn't have been there with them. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I guess she would if she was </span>
  <em>
    <span>sick</span>
  </em>
  <span>." Connie shrugged, folding over yet another t-shirt on the table. Frustratingly, she was nowhere near as good at it as Max was. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"First Stephen Space-Wolf, now Max? It might not be long before we're next." Buck shook his head in fear, there was no way that he wanted to be next on the Star Destroyers hit list. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I don't think there's anyone after us, Buck..." Connie furrowed her eyebrows, unsure if Buck was being serious or not. It was always hard to tell with him. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I'll be keeping an eye out from here on out. We have to make sure that we protect the people. You're all incredibly important to me and if anything were to happen I'd have to avenge you all. You all deserve that kind of love in your life." Buck placed his hand on his chest and nodded slowly. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Connie hadn't had many conversations with Buck over their time at friends, but they always ended up the same. Strange and yet somewhat insightful. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Thanks...Buck..." Connie wasn't quite sure what else to say as she watched him walk away before climbing back up on the stage to join the rest of the band. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Connie pushed her way through the evening, making sure to keep her head down for most of the night. She sat on the chair at the back of the merch stand and scrolled through social media to see if Max had offhandedly made any comments about her. She hadn’t - that would have been petty. She hadn't posted at all. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Connie had suddenly become obsessed with both her parent’s text messages and the idea that Max could have sent her a message any second to apologise or send her some kind of funny image. Max would often send her memes - except throughout the evening nothing of the sort came through on her phone. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Steven noticed that without Max being around, Connie had essentially volunteered herself for merch. He knew that in a way she wouldn’t have minded doing the task, but it certainly wasn’t something that she wanted to get into a habit of doing. The best thing about Max being a part of the merch stand was that people were starting to know her as a person, following her on social media as she spoke about her favourite bands. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Little did Connie know that by being there that evening looking miserable behind the merch stand that there were a few fans that were disappointed that Max wasn’t there to have greeted them. If Max knew - she would have felt awful. Max loved greeting the people who knew her from the amount she posted about the band on social media. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Connie barely spoke to Steven as they made their way back to the hotel. Connie tried her hardest to hide everything that had been building within her away from Steven as much as possible. Sure, she would have wanted to tell him everything that had happened - but she also didn’t want to prove Max right. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Of course, she was probably going to have found herself falling back into the warm welcoming arms of Steven Universe whenever she did require that kind of comfort. Steven would have always been there for her - even if it felt as if she had been letting him down with her words and fake promises. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Unfortunately, Max had opened her eyes in the worst of ways. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Steven noticed Connie turn away as she laid in the bed, suggesting to him to snuggle up behind her. He didn’t mind in the slightest, switching the light off on the wall and crawling into bed beside her. He wrapped his arm around her and shuffled up close.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Goodnight.” He whispered in her ear before kissing her cheek and resting his head on the pillow behind her and closing his eyes.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Connie didn’t bother to respond, too caught up in her thoughts and feelings to respond. Instead, she noticed that her eyes began to water as tears hit her pillow. She sniffed, unable to control herself. Steven instantly sat up at the sound, turning around and flicking on the light switch of the lamp beside them causing the room to become dimly lit. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Connie? Are you okay?” Steven’s eyebrows dipped with concern as he leant over and noticed her crying. She wasn’t okay and his heart ached at the sight of her with red eyes. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Connie sniffed, unsure if she could have shared how she felt with Steven. She trusted him, but the idea that Max was right about taking all of her feelings to Steven began to loom over her. Although, who else did she have to go to? She certainly didn’t have Max on her side anymore. It wasn’t as if she could have picked up the phone and called her as they used to when they had a problem. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I-I'm-” Connie’s voice was shaky, causing Steven even more concern as he tried to get a better look at her. He had never seen her cry so deeply before that even just the sound of it was breaking his heart, enough to make his eyes water at the sight. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Connie...what’s wrong? Did something happen?” Steven touched her shoulder gently, wanting nothing more than to comfort her. He wanted to make sure she was okay and yet at that moment, she wasn’t. They had cried to one another before - but nothing was as harrowing as the sobs that Connie was currently gasping. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m fine!” Connie desperately wanted Steven to comfort her and yet at the same time, she knew that would have been falling back into the trap that Max had set to prove herself right. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re not fine, you’re really sad!” Steven argued, nothing but panic spreading through him. He had spoken the words far too often himself to know that she was lying. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Connie couldn’t fathom up the courage to speak anymore on the subject that was internally destroying her, but no matter what, she knew that she had to speak about it. Steven would have always been there for her. At the very least - she owed him honesty. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I...me and Max...we-” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s okay…” Steven hushed as he gently brushed his fingers against her cheek, she was still facing away from him, lying down on the pillow and making it incredibly wet with her tears. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>His words were painful to hear. Nothing was </span>
  <em>
    <span>okay</span>
  </em>
  <span>, it hadn’t been that way in a while. Nothing had been going right since she had graduated. This wasn’t the life that she had envisioned - the one that she was promised. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Connie immediately sat up in the bed, taking Steven by surprise as he too matched her position by kneeling on the bed beside her. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s not </span>
  <em>
    <span>okay</span>
  </em>
  <span>, Steven! My parents hate me! Max hates me! </span>
  <em>
    <span>Everyone</span>
  </em>
  <span> hates me!” Connie raised her voice as she sat up and looked over at Steven with tears in her eyes, his dumbfounded expression filled with sadness. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I...don’t hate you.” Steven chewed his bottom lip, feeling a little hurt by her words. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You may as well!” Connie raised her voice slightly before covering her eyes with her hands, overwhelmed by the emotions that ran through her. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Connie...I could </span>
  <em>
    <span>never</span>
  </em>
  <span> hate you.” Steven shuffled forward, his tone warm and inviting. He made sure to be as close as he possibly could before holding onto her wrists and forcing her hands away from her eyes slowly. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Connie didn’t want to look at him. She knew that she was ugly and covered in snot and tears. She knew that as soon as she looked at him she would melt once more. Captivated by his charm. His stupid charm. He was so...she loved him so much. Max was right - no matter how hard she tried she would have always fallen back to Steven. He was her everything. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Please don’t cry. Just...talk to me. It’s okay to just talk.” Steven lifted her hands to his mouth before kissing her knuckles gently. She sniffed loudly at the touch, looking away in embarrassment. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Perhaps talking to Steven wouldn’t have been such a bad idea? </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We got into a big fight.” Connie admitted, Steven immediately guessing she was talking about Max. It suddenly made sense as to why Max hadn’t shown up to the show that evening. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh...what about?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Everything.” Connie wiped her eyes. It truly was about everything. Everything that had been built up between them for the past four years. Every grievance they had ever had with one another. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh…” Steven gently interlocked his fingers between Connie’s as he crossed his legs directly in front of her to be closer. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I said some really mean things, Steven…I don't think she'd ever going to forgive me.” Connie pushed her lips into a thin line as tears continued to stream down either side of her face. She had noticed that her tears had caused Steven to start crying in return. She hadn’t meant for that to have happened. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We all say mean things when we’re angry.” Steven attempted to justify her mistake. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That doesn’t make it right.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, it doesn’t.” Steven took a deep breath, realising that he too had been subjected to harsh words amongst rage in his past. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t know what to do.” Connie began to weep once more. She had been building up all of her emotions for so long that they had to come out at some point. There was no way that she couldn’t have let herself explode under the pressure - everything was becoming too much to handle. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>They had both been under tremendous amounts of stress throughout the UK tour - something that neither of them had expected when they had gone into it. Both Steven and Connie had experienced emotions that they were sure they hadn’t experienced before. They had both been through so much. So much that even Steven couldn’t help himself but cry along with her. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Steven softly pushed his hand up her thigh as a way to comfort her, Connie stared down at the action, noticing that it may have been a little more suggestive than what he had intended. Steven noticed her stare and pulled away almost instantly, not wanting to impose anything that would have made them both uncomfortable. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Connie looked up at Steven with intent in her eyes, there was something about both of them at that moment that made them incredibly attractive. Despite all of the tears that covered their faces and their red eyes, they still couldn’t help but look at each other in a way that suggested something that could have been seen as obscene at the moment. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I wish I could make you happy.” Steven sighed, desperate to see her smile again. Despite her seeming as if she was having fun during certain moments throughout the tour he couldn’t help but feel as if she was putting on a clear facade. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You make me happy.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Happier.</span>
  </em>
  <span>” Steven corrected. There were just some things that he couldn’t correct. Some things that he only knew certain ways to solve. Unhealthy coping mechanisms that he still latched onto from his past. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>From a dark past where he would use sex to cope with how he felt, he had never felt that way with Connie. The relationship that they shared was so much more than that. It was special and intimate. It was something that nobody could compare to. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Yet, in that very moment the way in which Steven used to cope with things flooded back into his mind. A deep desire that told him what he wanted. He was sick of those feelings - sick of feeling that way. How else was he supposed to make someone happy when all he could think about was how unhappy he was in himself? </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He tried to believe he was happy and yet seeing Connie cry broke him. It broke him beyond belief. It broke him more than he would have ever liked to admit. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Steven ran his hand back over Connie’s thigh as a way to comfort her, this time coming off a lot more suggestive than the first. Connie once again looked down and sniffed, placing her hand on top of Steven’s. He glanced up at her with his mouth slightly ajar. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Wha-” Connie began. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t want you to be sad.” Steven shook his head as he shuffled even closer, Connie was a little wary of what he was going to do. He gently lifted his hand to meet her cheek before leaning forward for a kiss. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Connie didn’t back away as he kissed her lips, he could feel the cold tears on her skin. The kiss caused her to shed even more tears, except she kissed him again. And again. And again...</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Steven-” Connie pushed on his chest slightly as she unlatched their lips. He held himself in front of her, awaiting her further instructions. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah?” Steven swallowed hard. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I love you.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I love you too.” Steven confirmed before crashing his lips back onto Connie’s, causing her to fall backwards onto the pillows behind her at the force. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He kept himself held above her as he kissed her passionately - not quite how she had expected the conversation to end. Although, kissing him was so much better than talking about her feelings. Steven had to agree. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Between each kiss they cried to one another, Steven slowly tracing his hands across her body and making his way up to her eyes to wipe away her tears. No matter how many times he did it, the tears kept coming. He didn’t want to see her cry, she was so upset. He hadn’t even given her the chance to explain why she was feeling the way that she was feeling - but sex was a good way to communicate too. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Right? </span>
</p><p>
  <span>It wasn’t long before they were unclothed and breathing heavily into each other's skin. No matter what kind of euphoria that they felt, they continued to cry deeply. There was so much emotion in how they felt that having sex with one another was just another one of those things. Something that they had gotten used to. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>However, on the emotional level it was currently on - it was a whole new experience. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Steven took the lead and held himself above Connie as he pleasured her slowly, making sure that she saved the endorphins she was receiving from the experience. Seeing her cry was heartbreaking, especially since halfway through he realised that even the sadness they were experiencing couldn’t have been solved through sex. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Nothing could have solved the sadness that they felt. The crushing feeling of no resolve. The stream of tears that fell down both of their faces as they tried their hardest to push those hurtful feelings away. The feelings that haunted them both. The feelings that made them want to lose themselves in one another. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Just one night. One night to forget about it all. One night to go back on everything that they had felt throughout the tour. One night to realise that their love for one another went above and beyond anything else that they were feeling. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>One night to try to fix it all. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Although, as Steven had taught himself through his years of harsh pursuits for love - nothing could be resolved in an evening. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Better yet - nothing could be resolved with sex. </span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0012"><h2>12. Oxford</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Steven is currently regretting his decisions. The only person he feels who might understand him is Max...</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Steven stared at the ceiling with the covers pulled up to his chest. Connie was lying directly beside him, cuddled up as per usual. There were so many things that were shooting through his mind - the biggest one being guilt.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Only moments ago had they slept with one another as a way to forget their troubles. A way of avoiding speaking about their feelings. A way to forget everything that was going on around them. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Steven knew that it wasn’t a healthy coping mechanism and yet he did it anyway. He had subjected Connie to his old ways. Ways that he wished he could have forgotten. He had never expected to have done that to Connie. Treated her the way that he used to treat the people he slept with before her. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Used her as a way to cope with his feelings. Allowed her to use him to do the same. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"I shouldn't have done that..." Steven sighed deeply as he placed his hands over his eyes, suddenly regretting his choice of comforting techniques. They shouldn’t have had sex. He knew it wasn’t right to do so at that moment and yet he did it anyway. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"I wanted to.” Connie gently touched his bare chest, causing him to flinch slightly and uncover his eyes. He glanced down at her hand before looking away. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"I know."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"It was...nice."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Yeah, but...sex doesn’t solve this. Sex doesn’t solve any of this. It’s just a temporary distraction for a permanent problem.” Steven gently touched her hand, somewhat nudging it out of his way as he folded over his arms. He chewed his bottom lip before continuing. “Trust me, I’ve tried it before...” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"So why did you do it?!" Connie furrowed her eyebrows at his response, feeling a little taken back by his rejection to her touch. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Steven sat up almost suddenly at her words, swinging his legs out over the side of the bed and sitting on the edge. He couldn’t even face her. He didn’t want to see her with a face full of an emotion he didn’t understand. Connie stared at his bare back, reminding herself of the night after their first sexual encounter. Oh, how this was different. She had never expected them to end up here. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I hated seeing you upset. I wanted to make you feel better!” Steven held his fists together as he balanced them on his knees, sitting in nothing more than his underwear. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Well, it did make me feel better. Now-"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"I'm sorry!" </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Now I feel like the asshole. Max told me what the problem was and I still went and did exactly what she said I would do." Connie groaned, falling back into her pillow and covering her face. She desperately wanted them to stop talking. She wanted to leave the room. Except, Steven had taken her words literally and wasn't going to let them go. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"The problem?</span>
  <em>
    <span> I'm</span>
  </em>
  <span> the problem?" Steven immediately turned back around to Connie with furrowed eyebrows. She could see from his expression that his heart was breaking at the idea. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"No! I never said that." </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"It kind of sounds like you did." Steven turned back, immediately standing up and collecting his articles of clothing. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Seriously, Steven? That's not…" </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I don’t want to argue with you. I don’t.” Steven was afraid his words would hurt Connie, or her words would dig deep into him in return. He was so emotionally exhausted from everything that had happened throughout the tour. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You’re not a problem, Steven.” Connie reiterated, immediately regretting her choice of words. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Maybe not - but I </span>
  <em>
    <span>create</span>
  </em>
  <span> them.” Steven bit his bottom lip as he turned away. No matter where he had gone in his life he always felt as if he was the one crashing through. The never-ending tornado that made everything difficult for everyone else. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Everyone from his family to his band. To Connie. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“That’s not-”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"I'm going to head out for a bit. I'll be back later. Maybe. I haven’t decided yet." Steven tried his hardest not to let out a sigh as he pulled his jeans back on and threw a hoodie over his head. His tone wasn't one of anger, more of disappointment. He wasn't quite sure if he was more disappointed with himself or with Connie's words. Either way - it hurt. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Connie wanted to argue back. She wanted to shout and tell him to come back to bed, to stay with her. She couldn't formulate the words within her mind, let alone speak them out loud. She felt defeated as if there was no way that she could have thought of a solution to their problems. They had never really gotten into an argument with one another before, sure petty disagreements were to have been expected - but nothing that crushed them both internally to the point of having to walk away from the scenario. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Steven tapped his pockets and made sure he had his phone and a keycard back into the room. He had never felt so deflated before - especially after sex. Especially after sex with </span>
  <em>
    <span>Connie</span>
  </em>
  <span>. It was something that he hadn't quite thought was possible before. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He felt horrible. As if he was in the wrong for his actions. He wanted to make her feel better. He wanted her to feel good about herself after her argument with Max had made her feel so alone and worthless. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Perhaps having sex wasn't the best solution to the problem, but it was the only thing that Steven could fathom at that moment. The one thing he knew was sure to relight the spark within them that helped her feel a little less alone in that moment. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Steven closed the hotel room door behind him, he didn't want it to slam - but it did. He screwed his eyes up and clenched his fists at the noise, as disappointed as he felt he didn't want Connie to think he was super mad at her. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Did Connie see him as a problem? Was that what Max was referring to? Did Max think he was a problem? He needed to know. He had to speak to Max. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Steven contemplated his decision. Would seeing Max make things worse? He wasn't sure, but he wanted to know. Steven strolled down the corridor with his phone in his hand, trying to decide whether or not he was going to call Max. He had to. There was no other way to solve things between them all. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Hello? Max?" Steven spoke softly into the phone as she answered. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"If you're calling me because you want me to apologise for what I said then you can take your pity call and cram it in your-" </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"It's about something else." Steven cut her off, a perfect way to not have to hear her violent threats. He listened to the silence on the other end of the phone before continuing. "I'm not going to ask you to apologise if that's what you're thinking."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Oh. So, what </span>
  <em>
    <span>do</span>
  </em>
  <span> you want?" Max's tone was deflated, little did Steven know she was just as upset as Connie. She had every right to be - potentially even more so. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Would you be able to meet me in the lobby?" Steven asked, a little hesitant to speak to her. He didn't want to pressure her into anything she didn't want to do, that meant not talking to him if she didn't want to. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Will Connie be there?" </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"No, just me." </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Oh. This isn't a trap is it?" </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"No."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"An intervention? My brother's gave me one of them once, mostly for the time I watched far too much television in one week. They kept joking that my eyes were square." Max paused. "They were never square. It's not possible." </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Oh. Well, can you meet me?" Steven wasn't sure how else to phrase his questions. He needed her to be his friend. He needed somebody that wasn't Connie. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He probably should have called Jenny. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Give me five minutes." Max sighed, really having to think about her answer. She didn't want to speak to anyone if she could help it. Things had been rough, especially between her and Connie. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It just felt as if Steven would have made everything worse. He already had done. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Steven paced around the hotel lobby, occasionally catching glances from the lady that was sat at the reception. He awkwardly smiled whenever their eyes met. He placed his hands into his hoodie pockets, resisting the urge to pull the hoodie over the top of his head and pull it tightly. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Eventually, he noticed Max step out of the elevator, looking either side of her for Steven before meeting his eyes from the opposite side of the lobby. Steven half-smiled with a shrug as Max approached. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“So, what is it you want to talk to me about?” Max questioned almost immediately, not even giving Steven the chance to open his mouth. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Can we go somewhere? Maybe...walk and talk?” Steven asked as he pointed towards the door. It was pretty late at night. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Max nodded. Steven noticed her disconnect almost immediately, it wasn’t like Max to bundle herself up in her own Star Destroyers hoodie and attempt to ignore the world. That was the sort of thing she did after a bad day at college and yet...her bad day on the road with her favourite band had just suddenly earnt the same merit. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Steven and Max slowly walked outside of the hotel, being suddenly hit with the cool air. It was nice to feel against their skin, it was a pretty night out and they both almost immediately looked up at the sky to see the stars. There wasn’t a single one that wasn’t shining bright. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Steven sighed as he walked beside Max, unsure of how he should start his conversation. He didn’t have to start anything, Max was already more than happy to start the conversation. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“So, you’re not here to try and get me to apologise to Connie?” Max cocked an eyebrow before looking over at Steven who had mirrored her way of walking. He certainly wasn’t going to do anything that would have made her uncomfortable and he certainly wasn’t ready to force her to forgive Connie. Even Steven was a little hurt by Connie’s words. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“N-no, I already said that.” Steven pouted slightly, irritated that Max would continue to bring it up. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“So, what is it you want to talk about?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>They didn’t get too far away from the hotel before Steven stopped in his tracks, the words in which Connie had spoken resonating within him. They had been hammering in his mind since he had heard them. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I thought we were friends, Max.” Steven glanced off to the side, even feeling slightly guilty for saying the words in the condescending tone. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What? We are friends! What are you talking about?” Max’s expression dropped dramatically, thoughts running through her mind as to what Connie might have told the man. Of course, Connie was going to have been on Steven’s side. That was just what she did. She had already proven that point time and time again. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It didn’t sound as if you thought that when you spoke to Connie…” Steven wasn’t quite sure how else to phrase his feelings as he scratched the back of his neck, now unable to look Max in the face as they stood opposite one another by a streetlight - the only thing other than the stars above illuminating the conversation. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What do you mean?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well, Connie thinks I’m ‘the problem’. At least, it sounds like that was what you thought of me.” Steven chewed the inside of his lip, a little sad that he might have been about to lose one of his best friends. Max and Steven’s relationship was special.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Max thought back to her words that she had spoken to Connie. She didn’t remember that exact phrase falling from her lips, but she could imagine where Connie may have gotten that impression. Steven wasn’t the problem in the slightest. Everything that happened between Connie and Max was their problems. It wasn’t down to them to work them out. Steven just so happened to be a bumper between the two of them, but he wasn’t entirely willing to be the peacemaker at that moment. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I didn’t...you’re not a problem, Steven. You’re...uh…” Max pondered on the right words to say, knowing that whatever she did say wouldn’t have gone down well. “A slight inconvenience in the grand scheme of things.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh…” Steven furrowed his eyebrows, that wasn’t better and made him feel somewhat worse about the situation. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“This past year has been insane - in the best of ways. It’s just...I didn’t expect things to turn out the way that they did. Things are so different now.” Max sighed, glancing over to the bench that was situated a metre or so away from their current conversation. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What do you mean?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Max sighed as she folded over her arms and felt herself stroll over to the bench before flopping herself down onto it. She slid down slightly, not quite wanting to admit her true feelings. She had already done too much of that and she wasn’t willing to hurt anyone else’s feelings. The last thing she wanted to do was make Steven and Connie want to go against her. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It feels like a long story.” Max sighed once more. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’ve got time.” Steven went and took his place beside her on the bench before leaning forward on his knees, balancing on his elbows and turning towards Max. Max let out a tiny groan. She felt like things would have been a lot less aggressive with Steven. He wasn’t as defensive as Connie, at least not with Max. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Have you ever felt like you’ve got everything you’ve ever wanted and then suddenly piece by piece it gets ripped away from you? You watch it crumble around you.” Max stared ahead. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah...I know that feeling.” Steven sniffed slightly as he thought about her words. She only spoke the truth about it. Feeling nothing but sadness for the situation that she had been put in. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well, then, you know that it sucks - right?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah, it does.” He thought that same about his situation with Connie before she had concluded telling her parents about them. Sure things had been fantastic and been everything that he had ever wanted and yet there was still something missing. Something that wouldn’t have been fixed until her parents knew about their relationship. However, now they knew things didn’t seem to be in the same place that he wanted them to be. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well, I’ve kind of been feeling like that lately and I don’t know how to stop it. It feels like everything around me is falling and there’s nothing I can do about it.” Max rubbed her opposite arm as she spoke, looking a little uncomfortable with the conversation. Steven wasn’t quite sure how to react to her words. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I...feel like I can relate.” Steven looked off to the side, wanting to be a part of the conversation, but not wanting to dive too far into his mental health. Being with Connie and reverting to his old ways felt horrible. He was still internally punching himself for the way that he had treated her. Why did he think that having sex with her when they were both sad was going to have made things any better? </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>That was a toxic trait that he wanted to get rid of. Something that he had taught himself in the past and wanted to do everything in his power to unlearn. He thought that by being with Connie he had diminished all of his feelings that fuelled that desire he had when he was younger. Young and stupid. Young and lonely. Young and broken. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“After graduation, everything changed. I know you were waiting on things to be different and it looked as if they kind of just stayed the same for a while…” Max began to refer to the situation with Connie’s parents, making Steven feel a little emotional on the inside. It had taken her a long time to admit her love for him to the people whose opinions meant the most to her. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Her parents know now.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Look how that turned out.” Max scoffed, trying not to think too hard about what the conversations Connie’s parents had with her could have involved. She knew how aggressive they could be, she had been around for a few of their phone calls where they always seemed to pressure her into things. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s not going very well - but I think it would be.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“That’s what I like about you, Steven. You always seem to see the positives in things. Things that other people can’t see.” Max smiled over at him, knowing exactly why someone like Connie would have fallen for him. Sure, he was a dork - but all of his other kind attributes caused him to be one of the sweetest guys in the whole world. Even Max could see that. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I don’t know why, it doesn’t feel that way on the inside.” Steven shrugged, holding his hands in the front of his hoodie pocket. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What do you mean?” Max questioned, wanting to know a little bit more about what was going on inside of Steven’s mind. He paused for a moment, wanting to know whether or not it would have been a good idea to let Max inside of his mind. It was a dangerous place. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well, I always feel as if I’m trying to be happy for people on the outside and nobody seems to notice. It’s as if my whole life has been this one big mask where I’m trying to smile on the outside when I’m crying on the inside. It’s really…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hard.” Max bit on her bottom lip, knowing the feeling all too well. Max was a professional when it came to masking her true emotions. She was like a chameleon when it came to social interaction too, although it was incredibly exhausting - Max was skilled in making sure that people only saw the parts of her that she allowed. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Sitting beside Steven, she was vulnerable. She had lowered her mask so that she could have a genuine conversation with her friend and allow him to relate to her. Otherwise, she would have been sat in a mask hiding behind a version of herself that she had created to make herself come across as confident. The reality was - she was a mess. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Exactly. I just want everyone around me to be happy-”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“-But you can’t seem to be happy yourself.” Max added, finishing his sentence. Steven chuckled at her words, finding the truth within them almost immediately. It was nice to know that there was someone in the world that may have felt exactly how she felt about his thoughts. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah, you understand!” Steven was surprised that Max knew exactly what he was talking about. Coming from someone who had grown up his entire life in the public eye, he didn’t quite expect someone who wasn’t in that position to have been able to relate to it so heavily. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It was true in saying that Steven had always spent his whole life trying to make sure that everyone else was happy before he even began to think about himself. Unfortunately, he had neglected his wellbeing plenty of times to make sure that other people came up on top. The same feeling that Max was currently experiencing. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It wasn’t as if Max wasn’t selfish herself at times - Steven was too. There was no denying both of those factors. They could have both been messes when they wanted to or didn’t want to. They mostly found that their selfishness came from frustration in particular situations. They were both feeling some kind of frustration towards Connie for very different reasons - perhaps for selfish reasons? </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m kind of an idiot.” Max sighed. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You’re not an idiot!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah, I am.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Why would you say that?” Steven was a little upset that Max thought that way. It wasn’t fair for her to be so down on herself. It was important to stay as positive as possible. At least, that was what Steven had been taught about himself many times before when it came to therapy. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I had gotten so used to living with Connie that I just assumed it would go on forever, y’know? I think I really struggle with change and for some reason, I’m irrationally angry at Connie for not buying into the idea in my head that she was going to move out to Massachusetts with me. Why would I even think that? I guess I was just afraid of going alone.” Max admitted with a small laugh, rather embarrassed to have admitted such a thing to her best friend’s boyfriend. She didn’t have anyone else to speak to about it. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She had thought about calling her brother Ryan a few times. Or her dad. Although, she wasn’t prepared to have the conversation that she truly wanted to have with them just yet. Something that she was yet to share with anyone…</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I think...sometimes we just get used to things. It’s really hard to think about living a life without that person.” Steven sighed deeply as he looked out at the parking lot in front of them. There was so much to have been seen around them, except the darkness that surrounded them on the bench was enough to inhibit their vision. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah...I’m just...I’m really mad at Connie.” Max sighed as she clenched her fists together, incredibly upset with her best friend. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I think she’s mad at you too...” Steven chewed his bottom lip, trying not to make the situation any worse but in the process doing just that. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“That’s no surprise, she’s just being selfish.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“She has a lot going on!” Steven defended Connie in a heartbeat. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You had a lot going on too, but you weren’t a selfish dick!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hey! Max!” Steven raised his voice slightly, not quite appreciating the way that Max was speaking beside him. It wasn’t fair on Connie when she wasn’t there to have defended herself. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You wanted to talk to me, right? What do you want to say?” Max asked as she opened her arms and shrugged towards Steven. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Steven sighed heavily as he looked down at both of his hands, placing them together and running his thumbs against each other. He couldn’t believe that just moments ago he was trying to solve all of his issues with sex - the one thing that he didn’t think he would have done. It didn’t feel right. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>For the first time in their relationship, Steven wasn’t in a place of happiness and satisfaction after sleeping with Connie. This time was completely different and irked him every moment he thought about it. Sure, the sex was good - but the sentiment wasn’t. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“This is just about Connie not moving to another state with you - right?” Steven’s expression dropped as he looked over to Max. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You’re making it about </span>
  <em>
    <span>her</span>
  </em>
  <span> again.” Max folded over her arms and rolled her eyes. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m not!” Steven growled back, slightly more aggressive than he had been in the past. “Well, not </span>
  <em>
    <span>intentionally</span>
  </em>
  <span>!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It's...whatever, man. I'm not really down for talking about this anymore, y'know? I'm just fed up with everything, it's nobody's fault but my own. Except, I just wish Connie was a little more subtle about not giving a shit about me." Max sighed, there was a serious tone to her voice as if everything she was saying was genuine. It was truly how she felt about everything. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Sure, there were a lot of things going on - but she wished that her best friend would have taken a moment out of her day to make sure Max wasn't struggling. However, it didn't seem as if Max was willing to give Connie the same satisfaction. Perhaps she was...but Connie wasn't willing to listen to her no matter how much she tried. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Nothing mattered anymore. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Connie cares about you!" Steven defended, thinking back to all of the times that she had gone above and beyond for her best friend. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"She's got a funny way of showing it." </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Steven sighed, realising that no matter what he did Max wasn't going to want to listen to him. He had gone to see Max as a way to establish the problem, but it seemed as if it wasn't just Steven that was considered the </span>
  <em>
    <span>problem</span>
  </em>
  <span>. It was probably a mixture of them all. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"I didn't want the tour to be like...this. I thought maybe now that you guys had graduated that everything would have been easier. It doesn't seem like it." Steven sighed, thinking about how he had previously pictured the tour in his head. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Steven had convinced himself in his mind that the UK tour would have been even better than the original tour. However, nothing could compare to the tour where he had fallen in love. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Reall</span>
  </em>
  <span>y fallen in love. All the other times weren't real and this...this was very much a feeling he couldn't escape from. A feeling he never did want to escape from. He loved Connie so much. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Now we've graduated everything has become so much harder. It feels like Connie's blaming me for having a plan - or at least one that's a little more stable than whatever she was doing. The truth is, I don't really know what I'm doing either. Sometimes you just have to roll with what you're given." Max shrugged, still somewhat annoyed that Connie would have assumed that about her. Sure, from an outsider's perspective Max seemed to have everything figured out when it came to knowing what she wanted to do - but that didn't mean Max wasn't facing a vast amount of inner turmoil. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Sometimes I think you two are just too smart." Steven snorted, being reminded of being occasionally wrapped up in conversation and debates with both of them. They mostly agreed on a subject, but if they didn't he would have been sat staring at the television between the two friends as they argued about a subject. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Sometimes I think Connie should sort her own shit out before she starts barging into other people's." Max retorted. She was probably right on that one, but Connie always held some kind of opinion on everything. Steven was the one who probably would have barged into other people's things as a way of sharing his own experiences. He knew it was wrong, but he couldn't help it. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>There was a moment of silence between the two of them as they sat on the bench together. Max was certain she had enough of sitting on a bench and arguing with a friend. Although, it was never her intention to argue with Steven. It was nice to be able to get her side of the story and the perspective that she held from where she was standing. It was important to have that. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Do you think...do you think I'm a bad person?" Steven's expression dropped as he asked the question, pressing his hands together anxiously. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"What? No, of course I don't!" Max spat back, curious to know why Steven would have felt that way. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"So, why do I keep messing up?" Steven sighed before running his fingers through his hair. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"What are you talking about? Are you talking about Connie? I thought you guys were fine!" </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"I think we are, it's just...sometimes things aren't fine. These last couple of weeks have been so…"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Awful." Max finished his sentence. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Yeah, but even though it's been awful I've still had some really good things happen to me. I just feel horrible. I always fell back on Connie to help cheer me up, but I can't even do that. I tried to do the same in return, but...I don't think I went about it the right way this time." Steven sighed, completely ashamed to admit that he had used sex as a technique to cheer her up. He wished he hadn't done that. It may not have been that big of a deal to Connie, but to Steven - it was the biggest sin imaginable considering his history. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Dude, just go and apologise for whatever it was you did.” Max shrugged, not quite understanding the situation. Although it wasn’t so much about the fact that she didn’t understand, it was more about the fact that she didn’t quite care when it came to love. Her friend’s relationship problems were not her own. There was no need for her to get involved in them. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I did apologise. Maybe </span>
  <em>
    <span>you</span>
  </em>
  <span> should go and apologise.” Steven countered Max, if he was going to apologise she was going to have to go and do the same. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No. I don’t think this time should be down to me.” Max shook her head. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Sometimes you should be the bigger person.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“All the more reason for you to suck whatever this is up and go and see your girlfriend. Why are you even out here anyway? What the hell are you doing?” Max furrowed her eyebrows at Steven, a little confused why he was still outside talking to her when he could have been upstairs going to bed beside his girlfriend. Max knew exactly where he would have preferred to have been. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I just...I needed some air and I needed to know that it wasn’t...me. I’m...really trying.” Steven took a deep breath before looking over the parking lot again. It was a little cold out, but the hoodie was doing the job it needed to do. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Look, I’m sure whatever you said or did wasn’t something that you could have helped. Couples fight all the time.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We didn’t fight.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Okay, well, whatever you did do clearly made you upset. Don’t do it again.” Max shook her head, realising that her own words were being spoken truly by herself. Perhaps it was about time that she started to listen to what she had to say. Taking her own advice would have been a good start. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Steven grumbled to himself slightly. Even if he was ‘the problem’, he wasn’t quite sure if that was something that he could have fixed. The damage was already done. Although, it seemed to be something that had upset Steven a lot more than it had upset Connie. However, it wasn’t as if he gave her much of a chance to comment on what had happened. He was more afraid that he was reverting to his old ways with someone that he didn’t want that to happen to. He didn’t want to relate the hurt that he felt with other people when he was with Connie. He wanted to lead a completely separate life to his past. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Sex didn’t solve his problems and he knew that, despite going against his own will. In hindsight - it was a bad thing for him to have done. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It wasn’t so much that Steven was the problem, but he didn’t stick around long enough for Connie to have explained what it was that she had meant by her comment. It was never something that she meant to have hurt Steven’s feelings. Steven had every right not to have stuck around to have heard what she was talking about. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Steven felt his phone vibrating in his pocket. It was the early hours of the morning, it was unlikely to be anyone else aside from his dad or...Connie. Max watched as he pulled his phone out from his pocket and looked at the screen. A beautiful picture of Connie flashed up on the display, one that he had taken of her just a few months ago. Max glanced over as she watched Steven sigh. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s her, isn’t it?” Max furrowed her eyebrows, feeling a bit of sympathy for Steven. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah, it is.” Steven looked in front of him, searching for something that told him he wouldn’t have to pick up. Something that stopped the guilt from eating away from him. He wanted to be mad. He was mostly mad at himself. He couldn’t have been mad at Connie for very long - he just couldn’t. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You should probably take the call. You know how persistent she is.” Max sighed, sitting on her hands and looking over to her friend as a way of giving him some kind of support. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Maybe I should just go and speak to her…” Steven chewed his bottom lip anxiously as he looked back down at the phone. The photo disappeared before appearing once again on his device. She was ringing - again. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I hate to say it - but you should.” Max sighed, matching Steven’s expression. As mad as Max was at her best friend, she couldn’t deny how torn up the situation with Steven was probably making her feel. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It would have been around this time in their old dorm room that Connie would have knocked on Max’s door and they would have discussed whatever scenario she had gotten herself into. Whether that was a couple of years ago when her parents were trying to set her up with some guy or within the past year when Steven hadn’t texted her back for a while causing her anxiety to spiral. Max would have always been there to listen…</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Connie would have done the same. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I should...do you mind if I go? I don’t want you to think that I’m-” Steven spoke with guilt in his tone. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I know, it’s okay. You’re not ignoring me, I’m telling you to go. I’m not </span>
  <em>
    <span>completely</span>
  </em>
  <span> heartless.” Max half-smiled, despite being angry she knew that she couldn’t deny her best friend the love that she deserved. Connie didn’t deserve to not have Steven's love. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I know you might not think much of it, but you’re a really good friend, Max.” Steven gently placed his phone back into his pocket as he stood up, allowing it to continue to ring. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m not, but I appreciate you trying to make me feel better. Thanks, Steven.” Max attempted to smile as she looked up at Steven. Max wasn’t going to pander to the idea that she was good at whatever it was that she was doing. Connie didn’t deserve to have been treated the way that she had done. Max was angry - but that didn’t stop her from feeling guilty. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’ve...got to go…” Steven stared down sadly at Max, continuing to feel the vibrations of his phone.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Go on then! Don’t keep a lady waiting!” Max snapped with a small chuckle, brushing her hands out in front of her to shoo him away. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Thanks, Max.” Steven smiled before nodding towards his friend. He didn’t want to leave her outside sitting on the bench by herself, but he wasn’t quite sure what else to do. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Steven wanted to be mad at what Connie had said to him, but he didn’t quite feel as if it was something that she had meant to say. Other than the fact he was madly in love with her - he didn’t think he could have been mad with her for very long. After everything, he was more frustrated with himself and the way that he had handled the situation. He hated that sex was the first thing his mind came up with when he saw that they were both sad. That wasn’t what he wanted such an intimate act with Connie to have been like. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Max sat on the bench and gathered her thoughts, thinking about how much she regretted saying the things that she had said to Connie. Sure, she was mad in the moment, but it was never her intention to say all of those things to her best friend. Connie was one of the first people that Max had truly been friends with. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>As a kid, Max didn’t have very many friends. Even as a teenager, she was mostly someone who bounced between friendships groups. It was never the case of staying around one person. However, Connie had been there for Max even when she didn’t think she would be. It was never Max’s intention to lose Connie - in fact, that was the complete opposite of what she wanted to do. Max wanted to be best friends with Connie forever and the fact that she had said things that were so hurtful that she was no longer speaking to her had made her feel awful. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Steven made his way back through the corridors of the hotel, feeling his phone going off in his pocket - over and over. He was going to go back to the room and speak to Connie as he had originally intended. He wanted to know from Max herself that what Connie had said wasn’t true. Sure, hearing it for himself wouldn’t have made things any better, but it was nice to hear that he was a ‘problem’ in Max’s eyes more than Connie’s. Even then - it wasn’t quite the problem he had thought he was being. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>As Steven unlocked the hotel room door, he snuck around the corner and noticed that the bedroom lamp was still on - only half illuminating the room. Connie was sat up in the bed staring down at her phone as she continued to try and phone Steven repeatedly. It had taken her a little while to build up the courage to ring him, but now that she had that confidence she was trying desperately to get him to come back to the room. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It seemed as if her calls worked as she looked up to see Steven stood at the foot of the bed tapping the keycard awkwardly against the palm of his hand. He noticed that just as when he had originally crawled into bed with Connie, her eyes were red and her expression was filled with sadness. It looked as if it was even more so now that he had left her for a while. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He furrowed his eyebrows, staring directly at her as her lips pursed slightly ajar. She was unsure of what to say to him, only wanting to apologise for the words that she had used. That had never been her intention. She didn’t want to hurt him. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Steven…” Connie spoke under the breath as if the time of day was a good indication as to why she needed to have been quiet. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Steven took a deep breath, seeing her the way she looked currently broke his heart. It broke his heart, even more, to know that he had indirectly hurt her with the unhealthy coping mechanisms that he had strived so hard to steer clear from the best he possibly could. He had failed in that respect and couldn’t help but feel awful about it all. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She had also said some pretty harsh things to him too, but that didn’t mean that he could have excused what he had said in exchange. Steven made his way around the bed, placing the keycard on the table as he passed. He gently kicked off his shoes in silence as he pulled his hoodie over the top of his head and threw it on the chair opposite the bed. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Connie was a little worried about Steven not saying a word as he pulled the cover up and climbed into the bed beside her. Connie only saw it as a good thing that Steven had decided to have joined her back inside of the bed, considering he had every opportunity to have gone to one of the other rooms to spend the night. She was surprised that he had even come back after she had called him. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Steven laid on his back and stared up at the ceiling, Connie sat beside him, waiting for either of them to say something that may or may not have made the situation better. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I...I didn’t mean to say those things.” Connie felt the cover between her fingers as she glanced over at Steven who was already tucked up in the bed. There was a hint of anxiety in her voice, a little worried that she wouldn’t have been able to get her true feelings across to him. She truly was sorry. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I know. I’m not mad at you.” Steven sighed, admitting how he felt about the scenario. He was true in saying that he wasn’t mad at Connie when the only person that he wanted to blame was himself. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“But…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“There isn’t a ‘but’. I’m not mad at you.” Steven shook his head as he looked up at her, not wanting her to feel anxious about their small disagreement. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m sorry though, there’s just...I’m having a hard time. None of this is easy.” Connie wiped her eyes, trying her hardest not to cry as she spoke. Everything continued to build on her, as if her parents practically disowning her was bad enough, she couldn’t stand the idea of her boyfriend disliking her too over something stupid she had said. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Steven rolled onto his side, he wanted to make sure that if he was going to comfort his girlfriend he was going to do it with kind words and cuddles. There was no need for him to bring anything else in the equation. Then again, kind words and cuddles were all she probably needed to feel somewhat better about the situations that were continuing to surround her. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He reached over and held out his hand, placing an open palm into her lap. She didn’t hesitate to thread her fingers through his. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We’re going to get through this. Together.” Steven assured. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You shouldn’t have to-”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I want to, Connie. I want to be with you. Through all the good times and...the bad ones too.” Steven gripped a little tighter onto her hand to reiterate his point of being there for her. It seemed as if she was currently struggling to believe something like that. Everyone else in her life seemed to have been finding it easy to have left her out in the cold. Her parents. Max. It was only a moment of time before Steven was added to the list. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Except, Steven would have never left her. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Connie sniffed at his touch, feeling incredibly sorry for herself as she allowed her mind to be flooded with bad thoughts. There was so much going on in her head that it was criminally overwhelming. Steven knew what it was like to have similar thoughts and she didn’t even have to tell him about them to know that was what was going on. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Maybe we should get some rest? It’s been a busy day.” Steven suggested, sitting up slightly as he opened up his arms, inviting Connie to join him as close as she could. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Surprisingly, Connie decided that it would have been a good idea to cuddle up to Steven. She knew that this time his comfort wouldn’t have led to anything suggestive. He just wanted to be there for her, as close as he could. Steven allowed Connie to back herself into him, shuffling as close as she possibly could whilst he wrapped his arms around her to help keep her safe. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Connie held onto his arm as he wrapped himself around her, keeping her warm and comfortable. Although, his touch and warm hugs didn’t stop her from crying. It did seem to help her calm down slightly enough to drift off to sleep in his arms. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>With everything that had happened throughout the day, it was no surprise that both Steven and Connie managed to sleep for a little longer than what they usually did. Luckily, the band wasn’t planning to leave for Oxford straight away, the journey was incredibly short. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Connie woke up surrounded by Steven, his arms still wrapped tightly around her as she listened to his steady breathing pattern and the way that it differed from when he was awake. She traced her fingers across his arms, thankful for the comfort that he provided her. It seemed that he had kept her close the whole night, not ever wanting to let go for a moment. Steven wouldn’t have let go for anyone. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>There were very little words that got them both through the morning. Once they had woken up, they got out of bed incredibly slowly. Steven had lovingly littered her shoulder with kisses so that she knew he wasn’t mad at her in any respect. He wanted her to know that he was going to be there for her no matter what, despite her mind telling her otherwise. Connie had to believe the way that in that morning, in particular, he had whispered ‘I love you’ in her ear as if it was the sweetest thing she had ever heard. She needed to hear that more than anything. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He couldn’t have said it enough. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The day in Oxford had taken a little while to get kick-started. The drive from Southampton to Oxford hadn’t been a long one, but it sure had been awkward. Max didn’t say a word to anyone the whole time they were travelling. Connie was barely in the mood to speak, so mostly spent her time attached to Steven. Although, she didn’t want to show Max how much she was relying on him. It would have just continued to have proved her right. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>However, it wasn’t the worst thing in the world that she relied on Steven. It was nice to have someone in her life that she could have done that with. In a way, it was perfect. She just didn’t want Max to judge her heavily on her choices. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It disappointed Connie to know that as much as she had always wanted to go to the Bodleian library that her mood wouldn’t allow her to do anything other than head straight to the hotel and sulk as Steven sat on the chair opposite the bed and strummed on the guitar. She loved listening to the songs that he was creating, being her company in her time of need was all that she wanted. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Do you want to stay here tonight?” Steven whispered, brushing her hair away from her face as he offered her permission for her to stay inside of the hotel room as they went and played the show that they had already agreed to do. If Steven had the ability to cancel, he would have quite easily have spent the night curled up beside Connie making sure that she was going to be okay. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“N-no, it’s okay. I want to come to your show!” Connie insisted, knowing that she couldn’t have hidden her face the entire time. Steven would have made a good excuse for her, but that was beside the point. Mentally, she just needed the day to recover from her bad mood. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Steven had been incredibly supportive the entire time and it just went to show her exactly how much he cared for her. He didn’t want her to be upset and it showed. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“As long as you’re sure. You can always hang here if you don’t feel like it.” Steven continued to make sure that she was going to have been okay attending the show. The last thing he wanted was for her to have been upset about having to go out when all she wanted to do was stay in the hotel room. He knew that she had missed out on doing some things that she had wanted to do because of her stale mood. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It’ll be nice to see you play.” Connie spoke with a smile at the idea of being able to see her boyfriend play in his band, the same as she did every single night. All she hoped was that Max would be there so that she wouldn’t have to run merch as she had done the previous night. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You always see me play.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s always nice to see you play, though.” Connie repeated. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m sure you’re sick of our songs by now.” Steven snorting, attempting to bring up a conversation topic that hadn’t been drowned in sadness. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Do you know how much Max played Star Destroyers back in our dorm? As soon as she started to play me more songs of yours the most I started to realise how much she used to play your records.” Connie chuckled slightly at her words before her expression dropped, thinking back to her memories with Max and the dorm room that they shared. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah? So, that means you must be </span>
  <em>
    <span>really </span>
  </em>
  <span>sick of them then.” Steven smirked. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s just nice hearing your voice.” Connie admitted. She had already told Steven that she often listened to his songs when they were apart, feeling as if it was a way that she could have been closer to him. He was flattered by the thought. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Steven smiled at her before gently planting a kiss on her forehead. He wanted to make sure it was his mission to take care of her over the next couple of days as they finished their time on tour and made their way back home. Things were going to get interesting when and if Connie decided that she wanted to go back to Beach City to be with her parents. Nothing had been decided yet, but Steven had made sure to keep his door open if she needed somewhere to stay. Of course, he would have much preferred it if she were to spend the foreseeable future living with him until she sorted something out with her parents. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It wasn’t long before they all made their way to the show. Surprisingly, Max decided that she was going to make her stand on merch that evening. Regrettably, she refused to make any kind of eye contact with Connie. In a way, she was embarrassed by what had happened between the two of them. There was no need for them to have acted the way that they did and yet neither of them knew how to solve the issue between them both. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Connie stood to the side of the stage, wanting nothing more than to have been there to have supported Steven and the rest of the band. She stared down at her phone once more, scrolling through the messages that her parents continued to send her. Steven had taken her phone away from her for a while, but that didn’t stop the messages from piling in. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>They had even resorted to sending her an email. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Despite her sending a message to explain where she was, that didn’t seem to have been good enough for them. The only thing that would have made them happy was if she were to have gone home and conformed to everything that they had to say. Except - that was never going to have happened. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She hoped that in the near future she would have been able to converse with her parents like normal human beings, but she wasn’t banking on anything. She was just as mad at them for hounding her repeatedly over something that was her own decision. They needed to back off, knowing that she was an adult who could make her own choices. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Connie wanted to make mistakes that she could learn from and yet that was something that her parents had never really given her the luxury to do. It felt as if there was no room for failure in her family and that included making mistakes to learn from. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Connie sighed as she watched Steven hold his hand out in the front of the crowd for people to hi-five him as the band finished one of his songs. It was interesting to know that despite Steven’s facade when he was in front of the public eye, his confidence behind the curtain was incredibly different. She never thought that dating a frontman of an emo band would have been so complicated. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She just wished that one day her parents would see Steven for who he truly was and not just some man in a band. He was some man in a band that made her incredibly happy. A man in a band that would have done absolutely anything for her. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It was when he turned towards her at the side of the stage and smiled that sweet smile that he always did for her that she knew how much he loved her. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He was never going to let her down. </span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>He was never going to run around and desert her.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0013"><h2>13. London</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>The band hang out in one of the most iconic cities in the world to play one of the best shows they have ever played! </p>
<p>There's a little bit too much alcohol involved.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>My ASD brain told me I couldn't edit this chapter for some reason - so it's pretty half-assed in terms of edits. Please forgive me for I have sinned or something.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <em>
    <span>'Hi Mom, hi Dad. I just wanted to text to say that I'm going to be back in Nashville International Airport late afternoon Saturday. I'm going to be staying with Steven for a while. I know it's in your best interest to keep me at home, but I'm an adult and I want to make my own decisions. My own mistakes. I love you. - Connie.' </span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Connie pressed send on the text message as if it was the scariest thing in the world. It wasn't exactly the kind of text that she wanted to send, but one that she had been prompted to do after considering her options. Something that had been playing on her mind for at least a few days now. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Things still weren't how she wanted them to be, but repairing her relationships with the people around her that she seemed to have damaged in her tornado was her first port of call, especially after seeing how upset Steven had gotten about his new techniques. That wasn't on him. That was on her. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Connie had contemplated that perhaps the things that she had done over the past couple of weeks hadn't shown her in the best light in front of her friends. She had always strived for her to love and respect them the way that they did to her, but she didn't feel as if she was treating them the way that she wanted to. The way that they deserved to be treated. It was certainly that way when it came to both Steven and Max. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Did you send it?" Steven questioned as he leant on his elbow beside her in the bed, watching her as she stared up at her phone.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Yeah... it's not going to be something they want to wake up to though." Connie sighed, realising that sending the text may or may not have made things any better. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"I don't think it matters what time of day you sent it." Steven bunched up the pillow he was originally lying on and placed it under his chest, hugging it tightly as he looked over at Connie. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"I just keep adding fuel to the fire." Connie laughed nervously, it felt as if no matter what she said or did things would have just continued to have gone wrong. It felt like nothing could go right in her life. Not at that moment, anyway. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Things will be better soon." Steven half-smiled wanting to know that he was telling the truth, but he couldn't be too sure with it. There were no guarantees anymore. Things would have gone wrong regardless of what she tried to do. Nothing was stopping the damage that came with her mistakes. Not so much her mistakes - maybe just her life in general? </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"I don't know…" Connie always enjoyed Steven's optimistic outlook on life, even when he was going through a tough time. Sure, things would have been different in the future - but she had no idea if those things were going to be good. There was no telling anymore. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Steven shuffled closer towards her before holding out his hand, her arms gently deflated as she sighed once more. Gradually, she made one of her palms touch upon her sweet boyfriend's hand who would have done anything to make sure that she would feel happy. Anything. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Connie didn't quite know how to feel about Steven's technique of using sex to cheer them both up, it certainly hadn't helped in the long run. It was more of an unhealthy way of dealing with things and it didn't seem as if it was something that Steven was ever comfortable partaking in again when in that sort of mood. It wasn't a nice reminder of his past and she completely understood where he was coming from. Sex was supposed to be pleasurable - not sad. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Steven threaded his fingers through hers as he hid his mouth with the pillow beneath him. Once again, he was looking as adorable as ever and she couldn't help but smile at the sight of him. He was cute. He was handsome. He was...her boyfriend and she loved him. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"I'm sorry I asked you to come on the tour." Steven mumbled into the pillow sadly. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"What? No! Why would you be sorry?"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Because everything that's happened has been...wrong. We've had more disagreements on this tour than we have our entire relationship." Steven continued to speak into the pillow as he looked away, making sure to caress the side of her hand with his thumb as he held her tight. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Oh, Steven... it's not the tour. It's just - it was the wrong timing for a lot of things." Connie didn't quite know what to say, she wasn't aware of how upset he was about the tour. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"I wanted England to be fun! Dad had hyped it up for so long that I had this vision in my head of what it would have been like. I was so excited. It has been fun at points, but I just wish we had spent more time exploring the country rather than...being sad." Steven spoke in a deflated tone, showing the sadness that he wanted to express about the tour. It certainly wasn't the couple of weeks he had originally envisioned. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Well, maybe we should come back sometime. Do all the things you didn't get to do." Connie thought of a logical solution to his problem. He thought about it for a moment.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Perfect honeymoon location, right?" Connie could tell he was smirking, despite hiding his face with the pillow. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Maybe one day - yes." Connie chuckled, of course, that would have been the first thing Steven would have thought of. He always had romantic gestures on his mind, including marriage. He was a sucker for anything romantic. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Steven just loved to love. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We’ll try and make our last two days here as fun as possible!” Steven suggested, still playing around with her hand in his hand. He wanted to do something that would have been fun for both of them, even fun for the whole band. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>There was so much for them to have done and explored in London. The country’s capital had a lot on offer when it came to the last day of a tourist’s holiday. Everything from going up very large buildings to visiting historical sites. Buck had already insisted that he wanted to go and visit Buckingham Palace multiple times. They knew that no matter what they would have had to have given into it. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It wasn’t long before they were trying to fit as much of London into their day as possible. After making the quick drive over, it was the first time in the past couple of days that there had been some sort of smile on each of their faces - including Max.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Okay! Okay! You've all got to get in line! C'mon, it'll be such a classic photo!" Max insisted as she pushed Buck out of the way, wanting nothing more than for them to have taken the photo at the iconic spot. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"It's really busy here!" Jenny gave everyone a look of concern. The level crossing was truly a hotspot for tourists and ultimately meant that it was hard to take a picture like The Beatles. Locals were continuously fed up with tourists in the area. It was a given. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"It's so cool though!" Max groaned, really wanting to band to entertain her request. What would have been better than the band getting a picture on the crossing on Abbey Road? </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Nothing.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"I mean, it would be pretty fun." Steven shrugged, sure - it would have been fantastic and he knew it. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Eventually, it was decided that Star Destroyers would have been walking in the path of legends as they all took their places amongst the busy area. Problem being, the crossing was still a road and there were plenty of cars in the area that frustratingly had to stop for tourists more often than not. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>For the first time in the past couple of days - Max was excited about something in relation to the band. It felt as if it had been pretty harsh recently on her and having the band to fall back on was all that she wanted. The only problem was that she still had plenty going on in her head that made the whole experience one that wasn't the most enjoyable. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It wasn't as if her best friend wanted to speak to her either. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Connie went and stood off to the side of the road, awaiting Max and the rest of the band to take the iconic photo that would have flooded their social media pages for months to come. Probably years. Steven knew that if the photo was good enough then he would have printed it out to put somewhere in his apartment. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>A part of him hoped that perhaps the photo would one day hang in a house that he and Connie lived in together. That would have been nice. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Max happily snapped the photograph, it had surprisingly come out a lot better than she had expected. They all seemed to have been walking at a similar pace to the legends before them which meant that the photo looked very similar to the classic album cover. It was a fun activity for the whole band and certainly got them a fantastic photograph they could keep forever.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>As much as the rest of the band were wanting to visit the front of Buckingham Palace, Steven and Connie were just as happy to spend their time walking through St James’ Park to eventually meet back up with them. It was great for it to have been just the two of them as they held hands and walked through the iconic location. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It was nice for the two of them to be together in some capacity that wasn’t a sweaty hotel room. London was a location that they had wanted to visit for a long time and it was an incredibly beautiful day for them to have gone out on the walk, surprisingly the weather had flipped on its head the moment that they were looking to go back home - typical England. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>They tried to speak about lighthearted things to one another, things that they had probably spoken about before. It was interesting for both of them to have conversations that didn’t have to relate to the state of the world around them. At least, what they would have considered their world and the current situation. Connie did, however, enjoy going off on topics about the world as a whole and Steven loved to listen to her rant. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It was nice to hear her being passionate about something and not being completely stuck in her head about what had happened with her parents and what was going on with Max. Speaking about political situations and the world’s climate change issues was much more appealing than ever getting to speak about her problems. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Steven listened as they walked through the beautiful looking park. Steven liked to imagine what the park would have looked like throughout the fall and how pretty all of the trees would have been with golden leaves. Either way, the sun was beating down on them both enough for them to stop by an ice cream truck and get themselves a treat. The band would have been jealous if they had found out, but they were both willing to keep quiet about the secret ice cream. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Walking around and seeing all of the sights that London had to offer was the best way to spend their afternoon. The rest of the band also had great things planned in their mind and they happily followed them around. There was a strange kind of tension between both Max and Connie, however, that was to have been expected considering what had happened a few days in the past. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Although, the rest of the band wasn’t completely clued up about what had happened between them. Steven certainly found himself stuck in the middle at points. As much as he felt as if it wasn’t entirely fair on him at all times, he didn’t quite know what to say for the most part. All he ever did was sit between the two of them, making sure that nothing awkward was spoken. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>From taking photos on London Bridge together to travelling on the Underground just for the sake of it - the band had a fantastic time in the capital. It seemed as if their time in London had been one of the best days that they had throughout the tour. There was so much for them to have done that it was a perfect day out for them all regardless of the things going on around them that made things not so appealing. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Despite everything, Max and Connie still managed to laugh at one another’s jokes, causing them to exchange glances. Neither of them wanted to have been in the position that they were currently in. Although, things couldn’t have been solved overnight. They both needed time to stew on everything that had happened between them. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The venue they were playing at was in Tufnell Park, an area in North London. The venue itself was attached to an old Irish pub and if there were technicalities involved - it was technically two venues. The venue was pretty small, with booths down the right side and a bar to the far left. The stage was very small, but with a lack of security, it gave ample opportunity for people to climb up onto it and stage dive to their heart's content. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The band hoped that Max would have done just that. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Another great thing about the venue was the smoking area in the back, allowing a nice airflow through the building. It just meant that when bands were playing and everyone in the room was jumping about that things wouldn't have gotten so warm. It was a nice venue and as soon as the band arrived they knew that they would have liked playing there. It was certainly going to be a night to remember.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Steven had wanted to play in England's capital for as long as he could remember. It was on his infamous list of places he wanted to play the guitar before he died. A morbid thought, but one that many people had. A bucket list that he held close to his heart, one that even the band themselves had added to. It was nice though, as the band got bigger they were going to have found it easier to play in all of the places that they wanted to.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>As soon as they got to the venue, Steven made sure to spend a little more time on setting up than he usually did. He wanted to make sure that the show that they were going to have played was going to be the best show that they would play on the entirety of the tour in the UK. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>With everything that had happened to them throughout the tour in the UK, it was no surprise that Steven wanted to make sure that there was something good coming out of it all. Even if that meant the last show was the best one that they could have possibly played. They were going to have stormed the venue whether or not the owners liked it or not. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“This is going to be the loudest show that we’ve ever played - right?” Steven glanced around the table in the old Irish pub, looking at each member of his band as they all got a drink in before the show. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Max sat opposite Connie, occasionally catching glances at one another before turning away. The two friends still had a lot to work out with one another and they certainly weren’t going to have been doing it at the show. There was no chance for them to have spoken and even if there was, they were both probably terrified of what the other person had to say about the harsh things that they had previously shouted at each other on a bench in Southampton. It seemed as if Steven was the only one who truly knew the situation between both of them. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s going to be the best!” Sour Cream commented, completely convinced that what Steven was saying was going to have been the truth.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It wasn’t to say that the rest of the shows in the UK hadn’t been very good, but they certainly hadn’t been up to the standard that Steven had wanted from them all. That being said, the audience in the UK was pretty wild and every show had been full of people who were willing to dance and participate in moshing and singing along to all of the lyrics. Steven always got an extra kick of excitement when there were people in front of him singing the lyrics back as if it was the only thing they had the lung capacity to do. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“The venue is pretty cool.” Max added as she leant on her fist at the end of the table, a pint of beer sat in front of her that she had been sipping throughout their time there. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hella cool. Did you see the smoking area?” Jenny questioned as she pointed back through the doors of the pub that lead into the music venue. Despite the venue being pretty small, the show would have been incredibly intimate and that would have been fantastic. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“The stage looks pretty good for crowd surfing. Max, you’re up!” Buck nodded towards Max, suggesting that the queen of crowd surfing should probably make sure that they made an appearance. It would have been a shame to not have surfed at the London show. That was probably a bucket list item for Max too. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh, I don’t know...” Max shrugged, going a little red at the suggestion. Of course she was going to crowd surf. She hadn’t quite been in the mood for it the past couple of days after losing Stephen Space-Wolf, but it would have been a shame to have not surfed at the last show - especially since they were trying to make it the best show that they could have possibly done. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Max was going to make sure that the show was fun! If that meant she would be up on the stage hyping up the crowd when they needed the encouragement then she would have been there. She wasn’t quite sure when the next time she was going to have been able to go to a Star Destroyers show after the UK tour. It was unknown when they would have played next. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Max had spent one of her nights back in the hotel room listening to one of her playlists. It didn’t quite feel right when a Star Destroyers song came on. Instead of passively listening, she had shut her eyes and listened to Steven sing. It felt strange to hear the emotion in his voice when she knew him personally and all of the things that he had been through that the general public didn’t completely know. It was weird to know that the lead singer of the band that was being played through her streaming app was also her old roommate's boyfriend. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It was a small world. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m routing on you, Maxxie! You better be in that crowd!” Jenny insisted as she nudged Max in the shoulder. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Maybe! We’ll have to see how much of this beer I can drink first.” Max shrugged again as she gripped onto the handle of the glass before taking a big sip. She probably shouldn’t have been drinking the substance before moshing, but it wouldn’t have been the first time that she was drunk in a pit. That was what made it more fun. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>With all of her current anxieties, she didn’t think she would have been able to go into a pit without being completely intoxicated with alcohol. It was the only thing that would have been able to make sure that her mind stopped enough for her to have been able to have some fun inside the venue. Music allowed her to be taken away and being swept up in a pit would have been even better! </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Connie watched as Max practically downed the beer, she had seen her friend drink on plenty of occasions before - but something about this seemed a little excessive. It looked as if she had a point that she was trying to prove. Potentially to Connie specifically. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I haven’t seen you in the pit in a while, Connie - where you been at?” Jenny tilted her head slightly as she questioned Connie, wanting to know where the second person who always seemed to have followed their band was whenever they were playing. It had been getting increasingly harder for Connie to be spotted at the shows as she hid to the side of the stage or at the very back tucked away. She had bigger things on her mind than paying attention to the mosh pit. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Me? Oh...I just haven’t felt like it.” Connie shrugged, it wasn’t as if she was lying - she really hadn’t felt like doing it. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Remember when you surfed with Steven at the end of the last tour? That was sick!” Sour Cream threw some kind of hand signal in the air, getting a little too excited at the memory. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“That was pretty cool…” Steven spoke at the side of his mouth. Sure, it was pretty cool. It was pretty cool. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah, that was really fun!” Connie perked up at the memory. She hadn’t crowd-surfed since the show in New Jersey. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>There had been one time throughout the year that Star Destroyers had played a one-off show in Nashville that Max and Connie had attended. It was there that the two friends got to start a mosh pit together, Connie joining in on the fun. However, it wasn’t something that she did very often. Usually only with a slight bit of alcohol inside of her and...her best friend by her side. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“This is going to be the craziest show of the tour. I can feel it in my bones.” Buck added to the conversation as casually as possible. Everyone on the table surrounding him thought that he was going to be correct, it was the last show of the tour and the venue was suited to a crowd that wanted to go crazy. It was certainly going to have been a show to remember.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I think you might be right.” Sour Cream nodded in response, wanting nothing more than to see the crowd go wild. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It wasn’t long before it felt as if everyone inside of the band was getting their wish. The venue filled up incredibly quickly, leaving Max stood at the back behind the merch stand. It was pretty busy, meaning that even at the start of the show Max was making sales. Although, there were a lot of people there that just seemed to have wanted to talk to Max. With the mass amount of alcohol that she was currently consuming, Max had no problem speaking to them about everything and anything they wanted - mostly music, but the conversation topics occasionally swayed past that. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Connie stood backstage with the rest of the band, wanting them to participate in the usual rituals that they did before every show. They had already touched hands together and thrown them in the air back at the pub over a couple of drinks, but that didn’t stop the group of dorks from doing it again before the very beginning of the show. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You’ve got to wish me luck on this one, I’m not sure I’ll make it back alive.” Steven winked whilst standing beside Connie as he scratched the back of his neck. After playing all of the shows throughout the tour, he deserved one where he could have relaxed. One where he didn’t have to worry about anything or anyone when he was on stage. He wanted to focus on the crowd. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You’ll be fine.” Connie rolled her eyes with a smile before reaching up and touching his cheek with the palm of her hand. Steven leant into her palm as his stubble brushed against her. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“The crowd looks pretty demanding. Are you not afraid they’ll swallow me whole? I might not come back. Taken by the crowd forever...whisked away to become nothing more than a shell of a man. A victim of fan culture and the love that they have for me.” Steven began to think of the worst-case scenario as he nuzzled into Connie’s palm as he spoke, holding onto a plastic cup in one of his hands. Connie looked down and chuckled. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I think you’ve had a little too much of this already…” Connie snorted, listening to Steven’s interesting image of what may have happened to him that evening. His fans did love him, but not enough to kidnap him as soon as he crowd-surfed. Well, at least she hoped that they wouldn’t have done that. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Guess I’m not part of the sober squad anymore…” Steven looked down with a sad expression as Connie gently coaxed the cup away from him. He surprisingly hadn’t had much to drink throughout the entire tour, but being the last show they all felt the need to have some kind of drink to celebrate. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>To celebrate the end of a tour. A tour that could have quite easily have torn them all apart. For some of them, it had already done that. It was something that they couldn’t have controlled even if they wanted to. Things weren’t going as well as they had hoped they would on their second cross-country tour and their first tour overseas. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“As President of the </span>
  <em>
    <span>Sober Squad</span>
  </em>
  <span> I have to issue a temporary ban.” Connie shook her head jokingly. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well, as Vice President - I say that’s </span>
  <em>
    <span>pants</span>
  </em>
  <span>. No such ban exists.” Steven folded over his arms and copied her action of shaking her head. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“As President, I have to say that I believe it does.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Vice President Steven Universe here - it doesn’t. I think Steven should get his beer back now. Please!” Steven spoke in the third person as he reached out for the bottle from Connie, she couldn’t help but giggle at his poor attempt as she held it away from him. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You can have your beer back. Anyway, it’s called the </span>
  <em>
    <span>Sober Squad</span>
  </em>
  <span>, issuing a ban means that you </span>
  <em>
    <span>can</span>
  </em>
  <span> get drunk. You’re banned from being sober.” Connie laughed before passing him back the beer. He stared down at it in puzzlement, a little tipsy from what he had previously drank. They really shouldn’t have spent a few hours in the Irish pub. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh. Hmm. Cool.” Steven made a selection of noises, causing Connie to chuckle at the way he was acting, clearly having had a little too much to drink. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"I will make sure to stay sober so that I can look after you and...everyone else." Connie sighed, wanting to make sure that everyone was safe as she thought back to Max. There had been so many times in the past where Connie had to look after Max when she had gotten a little too drunk.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span> "I have to go and play the guitar now so I'm going to think somewhat sober thoughts." Steven prodded his temple with his index finger. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"That would probably be a good idea." Connie patted him gently on the chest before leaning in for a quick kiss on the lips. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>What was going to have been a quick kiss ended up being a little more as he made sure to keep his lips against hers for a little bit longer than expected. As she pulled away he went in for another which was quickly rejected by Connie's slight push on his chest. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She gave him a sweet smile as he stared at her in wonderment. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"You're the prettiest girl I've ever seen!" A small smile crept up the side of his face.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"C'mon, Casanova - you've got a show to play!" Connie teased as she pushed him in the shoulder, not quite playing to his flirtatious techniques. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Fine! Duty calls!" Steven groaned with a smile, turning around swiftly as he made his way towards the rest of the band. Connie watched him disappear as she smiled, he was rather sweet when he was a little drunk. Admittedly, his originally tipsy charm was surprisingly what got them to meet in the first place. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Steven joined the rest of the band, mentally preparing themselves to head up on the stage as they had done night after night on the tour. It had been exhausting, but no night was the same. They truly wanted this time to be the best they could make it. It was going to be awesome! </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The crowd cheered as Star Destroyers took to the stage, Steven throwing his guitar strap over his head and taking his mark at the microphone. Each member of the band did the same, with Sour Cream shuffling the small stool closer to the drum kit. The crowd were more than ready to see one of their favourite bands play, continuing to cheer and clap as the only thing that was to be heard was feedback through the speakers. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Connie stepped to the side of the stage and smiled at them all, folding over her arms and looking up at the stage in front of her. The venue was pretty small, which meant that she was on the same level as the audience, the only thing separating them was a huge speaker and half a curtain. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Hello, London! It's so nice to be here, thank you all for coming tonight! You're all so wonderful!" Steven laughed into the microphone, his voice was the only thing to be heard in the venue. He too was super excited to have played in the capital. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It was nice to know that no matter what city they were to have played in, there would have always been fans that were willing to shout their name. People who continued to support them through thick and thin. People who were willing to do anything and everything to make sure that they got to their show. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Steven had spoken to fans before who had travelled miles to make sure that they got to see the band play. Surprisingly, Connie had even been one of the people who were to have travelled across the whole of America to see his band play. It was crazy to think about. Max really had dragged her across the country to see some emo band. It blew Steven’s mind that there were people out there that loved their music so much that they were willing to do that for them. Even still, there were people following the band who didn’t even enjoy the music that much - Connie as a case in example. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Steven pressed his foot against the guitar pedal to signal the start of the show as the lights dropped to a dim shade of red. He gently strummed an intricate pattern on the strings before Sour Cream began to tap on the drums. It wasn’t long before Buck’s guitar began to join in, followed by Jenny’s bass. Each of the instruments compiled together to make a wonderful sounding alternative rock song. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Connie tapped her foot against the floor as they played, no matter how many times that she had heard the music she didn’t stop feeling something. Originally, she hadn’t enjoyed the genre as much as she should have. However, after being constantly subjected to it, it was nice to hear the staples of the genre. She certainly enjoyed listening to music with Steven and she loved hearing him play. She had even started to pick up on the bands that Max spoke about or played back in their old dorm room. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Max made sure that she joined the rest of the small crowd in jumping into one another, not wanting to miss out on the opportunity. It had even made Connie smile to see Max dive into the crowd from the stage as the band played. She wanted to be mad, but she couldn’t be mad when half of what had happened was her fault. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Connie finally hoped within her mind that like her parents, she would eventually be able to rebuild the relationship that she once shared with Max. She cared far too much about her to ever lose her to some stupid argument. Although, it may not have seemed so stupid to Max. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Connie had thought back to their argument nearly as many times as she had thought about her parents, switching between the two as she replayed them within her mind. Neither of them had turned out any good, but she continued to think of things that she could have said instead to have made things better. However, with Max, the only things that she had said were things that she felt as if she needed to say. Max had to hear them. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Although, there were a few throwaway comments that Max could have done without hearing. Perhaps Connie would have happily have taken a few of her words away from the scenario. They weren’t all nice. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Steven hopped around on one foot on top of the stage, making sure to play as well as he possibly could. Mixed in with a few jumps and lots of screaming into the microphone, Steven had made sure that this was a show filled with fun energy. The crowd certainly felt that way as it looked as if they had all been coated in a bucket of sweat. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>A bead of sweat trickled down the side of Steven’s face as he lifted both of his arms in the air and stared at the back of the small venue as he caught his breath. There was so much that he wanted to say to the crowd, mostly incredibly grateful that the crowd had been so interactive with the band the entire night. They didn’t hesitate to respond or to jump around to the beat of each song. Most of them were also great enough to know all of the lyrics to their songs. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You guys are killing it.” Buck smiled wide as he stepped up to the microphone and breathed heavily. There was so much energy in the room that it wasn’t quite believable. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The crowd had been so loving back to them that Connie had even pulled out her phone to take photographs of both the band and the crowd. The photos that she had taken looked wonderful under the lighting. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“This tour has been amazing! It’s our first time overseas and you’ve all been so welcoming and patient. Thank you so much!” Jenny added as the show began to come to a close. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"There’s a few people here tonight that I’d like to thank for their involvement on the tour.” Steven cleared his throat. “I want to say a huge thank you to our merch queen, Max! If you want a t-shirt or anything Star Destroyers related - she's the one! Can we all bring it together for Max?" Steven shouted into the microphone as he pointed down at Max in the crowd who had lifted both her arms up. The crowd began to cheer, clapping loudly. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Max raises the roof every night! We love you!" Jenny spoke into the microphone before joining in with the praise, the crowd erupting once more. Everyone surrounding Max took a step back as she took several bows. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I know the band is going to make fun of me for this, but I wanted to thank my wonderful girlfriend, Connie.” Steven held onto the microphone before glancing off to the side of the stage where Connie was standing, the crowd responding with a comical ‘oooo’. “I just wanted her to know that I love her very much and that I’m so lucky to be with her.” Steven smiled, making sure he kept eye contact with the beautiful girl who was standing at the side of the stage with a small smile creeping up her face. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“He's going to propose!” A random member of the audience shouted, making Steven nearly choke on his saliva, taking his attention away from Connie.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Uh...maybe one day!” Steven chuckled nervously, going slightly red at the thought. He had certainly thought about it a lot - but now was most certainly not the right time. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"He's going to do it!" Another audience member shouted as the vast majority of them pulled out their phones to capture the moment. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"N-no! I'm not! I-I'm not!" Steven sweated anxiously, looking over to Connie nervously shaking his hands in front of him. He turned back to the band for support. Connie shook her head violently. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Don’t worry, guys. I’ll make sure that the next album isn’t a pop album full of sappy love songs.” Jenny joked as she leant into the microphone before speaking, calling Steven out on what route he could have possibly taken for a next album. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“As if this album isn’t already that.” Buck commented as Sour Cream did a simple ‘bud dum tsss’ on the drums. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Okay okay, settle down!” Steven spoke with red in his cheeks, lighting him up like an alarm at the thought of everyone attempting to peer pressure him into spending the rest of his life with Connie. He didn’t need the pressure, he wanted to do that anyway! “We’ve got one last song to play for you all and I want everyone to go crazy! Can you all do that for us?” Steven asked the crowd. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Steven was met with a loud cheer that nearly swept him away, he wanted nothing more than to have played the last song and for everyone to have made sure that they had the most fun they possibly could have. He wanted to make sure the whole crowd joined in. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Sounds like they’re ready!” Jenny smirked at the crowd who responded with yet another cheer. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Alright, this one is </span>
  <em>
    <span>This is the Fifth Pen I’ve Lost Down the Couch This Week</span>
  </em>
  <span> - thanks for coming out! We’ll see you next time!” Steven felt a sense of pride as he spoke the name of his song and everyone cheered. One of the songs on the latest album that had gained a lot of traction due to the number of views the bizarre music video that they had made for it had gotten. Admittedly, the video had become somewhat of a meme. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Steven stepped back onto his pair of shiny new red Vans that had already been beaten up slightly from the trip that they had been on. Admittedly, they were still looking brand new in comparison to the ones that he had shoved inside of his bag after being too sad to ever partway with the shoes that he treated like reliable old friends. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He began to nod his head before pushing his fingers rapidly against the frets of his guitar before simply staring over at the side towards Connie with a small smile, making sure that she was still aware of him being infatuated with her. Of course she knew that, smiling back with love in her eyes. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The whole band began to strum out the beat to the song, Steven ready to step up to the mark as the crowd began to jump around to the sound. Steven opened his mouth as soon as he stepped over to the microphone, screaming the first lyrics of the song as loud as he possibly could. His voice boomed through the sound system, causing everyone to suddenly jump into one another. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Connie peered around the curtain and noticed the chaos that had erupted in the crowd, she knew damn well that Max had something to do with the circle pit that was currently being formed. The venue was far too small for anything like that, but it didn’t seem to matter. They were going to have the time of their lives no matter what and nobody would have been there to tell them otherwise - not even security.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>As the song continued to play, Steven’s guitar playing became more impressive. Everyone was always so shocked how he could play such intricate chord patterns and tabs when he was still screaming the lyrics that he had written into the microphone. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It was interesting for the band to see people going crazy for their songs night after night. The emotion that Steven put into the lyrics and how they played their instruments was all for a reason and he loved every single person who was able to sing the lyrics back to him. He just loved it when anyone showed up, even the bar staff in the corner of the room who were silently nodding their heads to the beat of the song. He had found some new fans for the next time that he decided to go to the UK. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He wasn’t sure when that would have been. It probably would have been a long time considering in the back of his mind he couldn’t stop thinking about what life would be like if he didn’t have to tour for a while. How great it would have been for him to have spent some of his time with Connie, settling into the idea of living a normal life. It would have been interesting to have some kind of mundane job - hopefully, something to do with music. It would have been fantastic to have spent his time with Connie. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Steven wasn’t entirely sure if Connie had the same sort of plan in the back of her mind, he certainly wasn’t going to have banked on the idea. Although, he would have loved for it to have been true. Admittedly, she had already somewhat agreed to the idea that she wanted to move in with him and with things happening between her and her parents it was likely that she was going to have to find somewhere to stay that wasn’t being back at home. Steven didn’t want her to return home if it was going to make her relationship with her parents even more awkward. He only wanted what was best for them both. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>There was a sudden drop in the song, causing Steven to whisper some lyrics in the microphone, ready for the build-up at the end. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Forget about everything happening outside of these four walls! This is you - at this moment! You’re going to be okay! Just be yourself.” Steven yelled his words into the microphone during the pause in the song, ready for the drop so that everyone in the room could finally be themselves. Finally, get to a point where they could forget everything that was making them unhappy and for them to have been there at that moment. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Steven didn’t just mean his words for the crowd. He meant for them to see through to Max and Connie. For the band to hear him loud and clear. For him to have taken the words in himself and understood them. Being in a band was the most wonderful thing and being able to play music with his best friends was even better. He was so grateful for the people around him and being at the venue that night made him think about it. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He strummed incredibly aggressively against his guitar before shouting the last chorus into the microphone, watching as the people in the crowd went insane at the sound. It didn’t seem as if anyone was having a bad time, people pushing into one another as Steven bounced around the sound, allowing the music to take him away in a trance that he had experienced night after night. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>This time was different. This time he was...happy. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>And he really did feel that.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>People were climbing up onto the stage and jumping off into the audience, before one person decided to stay on the stage for a little too long, urging for people beneath them to climb up. Steven usually got internally annoyed at the crowd surfers who stayed on the stage for far too long, but this time nobody seemed to have wanted to surf. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It wasn’t long before there were people practically in his face as he played the guitar, the entire stage became overrun by fans jumping around them. Steven suddenly dropped to the floor, continuing to play the guitar solo the best he possibly could as he scooted along the stage on his back past the feet of the fans surrounding him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>A group of fans all found their place by the microphone, singing the remaining lyrics for Steven as he spent his time playing the guitar as well as he possibly could. He was sure someone had just spilt beer on him, but that was beside the point - he was having the time of his life. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It took a while for the song to come to an end, Steven continuing to play the guitar solo until his fingers could no longer comprehend the same repetitive motion. There were so many people jumping around him that concentrating on the guitar had become the one thing that he was determined to do. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>As the song slowly came to an end, fans started to jump off the stage and make their way back into the crowd, a couple of minutes of craziness was nearly over. With the venue being so small, it was hard for security to try and get control of the situation. Connie found the whole scenario slightly terrifying, but she knew that Steven was used to things like that happening a lot. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>After all, he had shown her videos of other shows a lot and things like that happened all the time at emo shows. It was just something that they did time and time again, the crowds were crazy. It was good in a way to have music that had that much energy to it. The whole band loved it and Connie couldn’t help but wonder when Max had gotten to, she must have been lost inside of the crowd somewhere. She was probably the one that had gotten everyone up on stage in the first place. It was no surprise if she had done it. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Steven eventually stumbled back to his feet, sweaty trickling down either side of his face. His hair was completely dishevelled from the amount he was practically rolling around on the floor. It didn’t stop him from attempting to brush his fingers through his fluffy head of hair to try and fix it. It didn’t seem to work, but Connie watched as he tried anyway. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Give it up for Buck on guitar, Jenny on bass and Sour Cream on drums!” Steven panted heavily into the microphone as he pointed back to each of his bandmates. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Ladies, gentlemen and everyone in between - </span>
  <em>
    <span>Steven Universe</span>
  </em>
  <span>!” Jenny pointed back at Steven as she spoke into the microphone, the crowd screaming a little bit louder this time. There were a lot of things being said inside of the crowd, Steven could always pick out a few of the ‘I love you’s that he heard.  </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You guys are the best! We’re Star Destroyers and we’ll see you again next time!” Steven waved with a small winked, lifting his Telecaster over his head and placing it down on the stage. He was exhausted. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The crowd continued to cheer and clap as Steven and the band waved themselves off the stage. They already knew that Max was stumbling to the back of the venue so that she could be at the merch stand by the time everyone decided that they wanted to purchase something. Steven had never wanted a drink so desperately, his mouth completely parched by the intense show that he had just played. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Okay, that was really cool!” Connie complimented as he nearly walked past her, shouting over the music. Steven laughed at the sound, feeling somewhat out of place as Connie touched his sweaty arm. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah? Yeah! It </span>
  <em>
    <span>was</span>
  </em>
  <span> really cool!” Steven laughed, feeling so happy at the moment that it was hard to comprehend a lot of his feelings. It was going to have been a long night, adrenaline running through him. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Steven! Quick booze break before you go back out?” Sour Cream shouted as he held open the door to the back of the venue. Of course, it wouldn’t have been long before security urged everyone to leave the building. However, before everyone did so Steven was determined to go and stand by merchandise for the people who were willing to stick around. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yes!” Steven held out his hand to make sure that he was a part of whatever was going to have happened. It didn’t matter what kind of drink he was going to get, as long as it was some sort of cold liquid that could have helped his temperature drop to a reasonable amount. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Steven didn’t hesitate to hold onto Connie’s hand and take her backstage. Connie didn’t particularly do much as she was nearly dragged into the back by him, he was always incredibly excited after a show, but she hadn’t seen him like this since they had first gotten to the UK. In fact, it had been hard to see him like this since the last full tour that they had gone on. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It wasn’t long before Steven was in the back with the rest of the band, clinking beer bottles together as a way to celebrate the end of their UK tour. Connie stood with her arms folded to the side, not too into the idea of participating in the drinking. It wasn’t as if Steven spent a lot of the time drinking, he hadn’t drank once throughout the UK tour. It was fine for them all to get a little tipsy after the tour they had. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Are you sure you don’t want one, Connie?” Jenny questioned as she held out the bottle, the question phrased a little differently to when they had first met. Admittedly, Jenny and the rest of the band still felt guilty over how they had attempted to peer pressure Connie into smoking the weed. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s cool if you don’t want to, we’ll get something else from the bar!” Sour Cream shrugged, making sure that Connie felt like part of the group. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I think I’ll have one. Just one!” Connie chuckled slightly as everyone smiled at her, making sure she was aware that everyone supported her no matter her decision to drink or not. It never felt as if she was being pressured - but they were bad influences. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Steven practically downed a beer before making his way out to the merch stand to join Max in meeting some of his adoring fans. Steven made sure to smile for every single photo that he was posing for, he was super excited to have met everyone. No matter what, the people around him always made him feel so loved for the music that he created. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Max stood behind the merch stand, making sure to sell as much as she possibly could. Steven had even heard her do the rap upon request of someone who had seen a video of her doing it online. Max loved the job - a lot. She never would have admittedly truly how much she loved it though. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The band spent a good amount of time celebrating with one another over the tour coming to an end. Steven eventually sat down next to Connie as they went back to the Irish pub that was attached to the venue to hang out and complete the rest of their evening. It was nice of them to have spent all of the time together. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Steven slurred a lot more of his words as the night went on, getting a little more repetitive and even a little more flirty with Connie. A part of her found it hilarious to see, considering all of the previous times that she had seen Steven ‘drunk’ was mostly just him having a few drinks to make him tipsy with the band. As much as he loved being with the band, he would have chosen to have been high any day over being drunk - the feeling wasn’t quite the same. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>However, without access to anything to smoke that only left them with the beer that they had consumed and the one round of shots that Jenny insisted they did as part of the celebration. It was what they all wanted and what they all deserved. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Connie was sober enough to have looked after one of them but certainly couldn’t control all of them as they stumbled onto the Underground late at night. They knew that they would have to have been at the airport in the afternoon, so it was imperative that they got their sleep. It probably wasn’t the smartest idea for them to have drank as much as they had done. It would have been better to have held onto the celebrations until they had gotten home. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Steven stared at himself in the reflection on the glass on the opposite side of the train, gripping onto both of his hands. He couldn’t hear a thing as the train rattled and his mind swam with drunk thoughts. Everything had been so surreal over the past couple of weeks that it was impossible not to think about it. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“This is...so much...fun!” Max swung around the pole in the middle of the train, there was a lack of people on the tube - but the people who were surrounding them were used to seeing drunk idiots on the train system late at night. This was nothing new or interesting. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You’re so funny, Max!” Jenny laughed as she pointed towards the girl who was happily swinging around the pole with one hand - the motion was bound to make her sick. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Buck sat on one of the beaten-up seats opposite Connie with his arms folded, gently readjusting his glasses. Sour Cream sat beside him with his eyes closed, tapping out a beat on his bright orange pants. Connie was certain that both of them had taken something a lot stronger than what she had witnessed them drink. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She looked around at her group of friends and smiled, it was nice to have all of these people around her that cared about her - minus Max, of course. However, even with their argument - Connie found it hard to believe that Max would have stopped caring about her. They were best friends for four years. They used to tell one another how much they loved each other. There was something between them that couldn’t have been broken in one argument. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Connie suddenly felt something on her shoulder, she turned slowly to see Steven’s cheek lazily propped up against her arm - his eyes closed and mouth slightly ajar. If he had fallen asleep, he wouldn’t have been asleep for very long. It wasn’t many stops until they were at their next location, but regardless - he did look cute. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It didn’t take very long for them to have gotten to their stop, Connie gently shaking Steven awake and tapping on the rest of the band to get them to follow her out of the tube. It felt as if she was looking after an abundance of toddlers. It was bad enough having to look after Max whenever she was drunk, it didn’t help to have to look after five of them. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She hoped that other than Steven, the rest of the band managed to find their way to the correct hotel rooms. She hoped that they all had their keycards, which she insisted they all showed her before they left her sight. Buck giggled furiously when he dropped the keycard twice in a row, attempting to show it off. Connie instantly grew tired of the joke. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Eventually, she managed to drag Steven back to the hotel room. He had been somewhat quiet until they had reached the hotel - where he then couldn’t stop talking. Connie was slightly worried that he wouldn’t have fallen asleep with the amount he was telling her. It was mostly flirtatious comments, which she wanted to be frustrated with but couldn’t find it in herself to turn him away. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You’re so pretty. I </span>
  <em>
    <span>hate</span>
  </em>
  <span> that I haven’t said that very much. I want to say it all the time. I should shout it! Yeah!” Steven took a deep breath as they walked down the hotel corridor. “You’re so-” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Before Steven could finish his sentence Connie’s palm had immediately slapped over his mouth. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Steven! People are trying to sleep!” Connie scowled, somewhat endeared that he would have wanted to shout something so personal. She used her spare hand to pull out her keycard and swipe it against the door. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Steven licked the palm of her hand, instantly causing her to pull away with a small giggle. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I can be quiet!” Steven whispered behind a laugh, covering his mouth in the process. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I don’t think you can be.” Connie snorted in response, opening the hotel room door and practically pulling him inside so that he could be out of the way of everyone else. Nobody needed to be disturbed by...a very drunk Steven Universe. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“There’s nothing wrong with calling my girlfriend pretty.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“There is if you’re shouting it down a corridor at three in the morning.” Connie shut the door behind them both, pushing him in the back slightly to get him to start walking into the room. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Everyone should know.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Not at three in the morning.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“How about four?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Steven…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Okay. Okay…” A small smile crept up Steven’s face. “Three-thirty!” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m hoping you’ll be asleep by then.” Connie sighed as she kicked off her shoes and hoped that Steven would have done the same. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’ll tell everyone in my dreams!” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“At least that will be quiet.” Connie shook her head, unable to stop herself from chuckling at his ridiculous comments. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Steven walked over to the chair opposite the bed and slumped himself down before crossing over one of his legs and staring down at his shoes for a moment. Admittedly, he had sort of forgotten what he was doing in the chair. His original plan was to try and take his shoes off, but it didn’t help when his mind had gone completely blank when he had sat down. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Uh...Connie…” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You know lots about science and stuff - right?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I...why?” Connie cocked her eyebrow at him as she looked at him staring at the carpet with vacant eyes. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Why are my shoes red?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“My shoes...they’re red.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah...they’re red.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“But why?” Steven looked up at Connie with concern in his eyes, completely perplexed by the idea. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What do you mean?” Connie began to laugh, humoured by his drunk behaviour. It was incredibly entertaining. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Why aren’t they blue? Or green?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Because you wanted the red ones.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh. I do like red...” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah, I know - that’s why you brought them ones and not the blue ones.” Connie laughed a little harder than before. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I should have brought the pink ones. I really like pink. It’s a passive colour.” Steven mumbled as he kicked his shoes off. His red shoes. The red shoes that he suddenly wished to have been pink. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Connie walked over to the other side of the room to stand in front of Steven, holding out both of her hands as a way to help him up. Steven blinked rapidly a few times at her before reaching up to allow both of their hands to connect. Connie pulled him up out of the chair and helped him take his denim jacket off. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Steven stumbled into Connie slightly as he struggled to stand up straight, laughing at his legs that immediately felt like jelly upon impact. Connie held onto him tightly, his much larger figure becoming a little difficult to keep straight. He tried his hardest to keep himself upright as he held onto Connie’s arms before immediately gaping widely at her. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Are you okay?” Connie tittered at his expression, using the moment to push her glasses up the bridge of her nose. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Steven continued to give her a dumbfounded expression. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You’re so…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Aw Steven, don’t say it!” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You’re so pretty!” Steven slurred a little louder than she had expected. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Come on, I can’t babysit you forever. You need to go to bed, you’re drunk.” Connie pulled on his t-shirt as a way to get him to move. He stood still before beginning to laugh happily to himself. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m not drunk! I’m-” Steven sniggered before covering his mouth.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Just say it…” Connie sighed. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m not drunk! </span>
  <em>
    <span>I’m Steven!</span>
  </em>
  <span>” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Connie shook her head with disappointment, his terrible jokes didn’t even get better under the influence of alcohol. Although, she had to admit she loved his dorky self no matter how intoxicated he was. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Steven was a little disappointed that Connie didn’t find his joke as funny as he did, watching her carefully drag him over to the opposite side of the bed. She gently pushed him down to a seated position, a part of him wishing and wanting her actions to have been suggestive. They weren’t. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Steven was practically still dressed as Connie tucked him up in the bed. As much as she was going to have spent her time making sure that he was ready for bed, she knew that he would have jumped into the shower in the morning. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He pulled the covers up to his chin as he silently watched Connie grab one of his large band t-shirts and walk into the bathroom. He stared at the ceiling for a few moments before she eventually came back out, neatly tucking her previous clothes into her suitcase that was on the table. He watched as she walked around the side of the bed to join him under the covers, wearing nothing more than the band t-shirt and her underwear. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Connie switched the switch by the bed which turned off the main light inside of the room, leaving them with the light from the lamps beside the bed. Steven looked over to her, his mouth slightly ajar as he stared in wonderment, thinking about how much he loved Connie Maheswaran. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“How come you’re giving me that look?” Connie questioned as she laid down on the pillow and held it tightly, looking over at Steven as he stared back in amazement. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I...I really love you, Connie.” His words were croaky but genuine.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I love you too, Steven.” Connie smiled at his words, reaching up and gently running her thumb against the top of his cheek. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me. I’m sorry I messed things up with your parents…” Steven sighed heavily, suddenly admitting how he felt. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh, Steven...you didn’t-”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I thought that if your parents knew about me that I would become a permanent part of your life.” Steven chewed on his bottom lip.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Steven, you are a permanent part of my life!” Connie’s eyebrows dipped at the thought, realising that his sober mind was coming through the cracks as the alcohol made him speak the truth. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I just don’t want to lose you…you’re so wonderful!” Steven half-smiled as he looked over.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“So are you.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No, you.” Steven countered. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m not starting this now.” Connie chuckled as she shook her head, internally smiling at his sweet words. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No, you-” Steven stopped for a moment, realising what she had said. “Wait…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Goodnight, Steven! We have a plane to catch tomorrow.” Connie leant over and planted a small kiss on his cheek. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Why is the plane running from us?” Steven laughed as Connie turned over to switch off the light. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Goodnight, Steven!” She repeated in frustration. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Connie shuffled into a comfortable sleeping position, almost immediately feeling Steven moving up behind her as close as he could manage. She didn’t mind being the little spoon but wanting to make sure that he kept on his side she urged him to turn back around so that she could be the bigger spoon. Steven instantly pulled her hand under his arm and made sure to hold her tightly. Connie pressed her cheek against the top of his back and hugged him from behind. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>There was silence in the darkness, Connie closing her eyes and wanting nothing more than to fall asleep when suddenly sure heard a quiet voice. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Connie?” Steven whispered. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah?” Connie asked, responding in the same tone. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m so glad I met you.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Connie smiled at his words, making sure she was as close to him as possible. She gently nuzzled into his back, keeping her eyes closed. She found so much comfort in Steven Universe…</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Me too.” </span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0014"><h2>14. Take Me Home</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>The band are on their way back home, but things aren't the same as when they left. </p>
<p>Connie and Max find themselves in a situation that elevates quickly...then suddenly...doesn't!</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>“Steven, we’ve got to go...we need to be at the airport in a few hours.” Connie gently shook Steven’s shoulder as he groaned, unable to pull himself out of the slumber that he was currently facing. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Admittedly, he had drank a little bit too much the previous night. It wasn’t that he wasn’t used to the alcohol...but after not drinking for a while it certainly felt as if his head was going to explode. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m sure five more minutes isn’t going to hurt…” Steven groaned into the pillow, not even wanting to bother to lift his head. He hadn’t felt that way in quite a while. Groggy and unable to move. It felt like his stomach was turning. He probably should have showered. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It is if you want to get ready. Pretty certain you don’t want to get on a plane feeling the way you do.” Connie snorted at the thought with a smile, gently tugging at the covers to try and get Steven to get up. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Steven would have never subjected her to such a cruel act. He would have never pulled off the covers when she was trying to sleep. It was cold in the outside world and Steven didn’t want to be a part of it. Life was far too bright for him to have opened his eyes. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I don’t.” Steven mumbled, wanting to be his usual optimistic self but immediately struggling as the alcohol from the night before made him regret even bothering to try and have a good time with his friends.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Why did celebrating have to be so cursed? He suddenly wished he was more like Connie. One beer and that was it. He wasn’t even sure how much he had drank, all he knew was that as soon as his head had hit the hotel room pillow he had passed out. At least, he thought it had. He didn’t remember that much from the night before aside from the show. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“So, it’s probably best that you get up and have a shower!” Connie insisted, her perky mood somewhat irking Steven at that moment. She hadn’t been this way the entire tour, why was it the morning that he had the worst headache in the world that she suddenly wanted to have been excited about everything? </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He wanted to be excited with her! </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Shower with me?” Steven reached out and patted his hand against the bed, his head still buried in the pillow. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’ve already showered. I also packed our bags to save time, I let you sleep in a little bit.” Connie folded her legs over as she sat on the bed, Steven lifting his head slightly so that he could get away from the pillow, still scrunching his eyes together as he looked towards her. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You know...there’s no harm in having two showers.” Steven shrugged as he gradually opened his eyes, immediately blinded by the light. It took him a moment to adjust as he noticed Connie sat cross-legged beside him on the bed, looking over at him with loving eyes. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Nice try, Universe. Now go and shower before Jenny starts calling. You’re supposed to go and meet her at twelve to drop the van off - remember?” Connie gently leant over and pressed the end of his nose.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Steven groaned again, not ever wanting to get up. If he could have stayed there forever it would have been a favourable option over having to get up and face the world. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Connie had listened to what he had to say the night before. Amongst the words he had spoken about wanting pink shoes - he had also said a lot of things that Connie felt meant a lot to her. The words he had said had sparked something within her, a love that couldn’t have been destroyed by anything. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She had gone to sleep with a smile on her face, which was often what happened when Steven was sleeping beside her - however, this time was different. He had put a smile on her face that couldn’t have been taken off. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He had panicked about how he wasn’t going to have been a permanent edition in her life. Which to Connie was a strange thing to think. Other than not telling her parents sooner, she couldn’t imagine why he would have thought that. They spent a lot of time thinking about their future together.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Although, with Connie’s parents not in the picture he must have felt left out. As much as Connie had felt bad about not telling her parents, the reaction that they had held was one that terrified her. She had every right not to have told them about her relationship with Steven - especially after what had happened. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Steven had put a lot of effort into rolling out of bed and finding himself inside of the shower. He was upset to know that Connie wouldn’t have been joining him. Connie went downstairs and grabbed them both some kind of breakfast, it was already pretty late in the morning and they wouldn’t have had a chance to stop in the restaurant. Not only that, but within an hour they wouldn’t have been serving breakfast anymore - so Connie had to be quick. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Steven eventually managed to get himself dressed, eat half a pancake, swallow a few painkillers and make his way to the lobby to meet Jenny. It gave Connie a little while to figure out if all of their luggage was together and whether or not she had packed it correctly. She spent a little while online figuring out how much it would have cost them to make sure that they could get the acoustic guitar home. Steven wouldn’t have been happy finding out the price, but he would have paid anything to get it back to the states. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>After a while, Steven came back to the hotel room - he still looked a little groggy but had certainly perked up from before. They had successfully returned the van and made it back to the hotel. It was getting a little later on during the day meaning that they were getting closer and closer to the time of their flight. Steven took a lot of the luggage down to the lobby to meet the rest of the band, Connie insisting that she was going to double-check the room before leaving. It wouldn’t have taken a moment, but Jenny was growing impatient downstairs - which meant that one of them would have to show their face sooner rather than later. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Connie grabbed her suitcase and made her way down the hotel corridor, leaving their last hotel behind in the UK. Every single hotel that they had stayed in had been carbon copies of one another. That had made it a lot easier to keep the memories. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Connie pressed the button on the front of the elevator and waited impatiently for it to have come up to her floor. She was unsure how she was suddenly running late after being so sufficient in the morning to make sure they were all packed. Admittedly, she had spent a lot of time making sure that Steven was in a suitable state to have gotten on a plane in a few hours. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>As the elevator doors opened, it was suddenly revealed to Connie who she would have been spending the trip down to the ground floor with - Max. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Connie suddenly contemplated taking the stairs, but in a hurry stepped into the elevator. They didn't have any time to lose, they were already behind on getting to the airport. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Max didn't say a word as Connie dragged her bag behind her and into the elevator, standing beside Max who was standing with folded arms. Max wasn't willing to speak to Connie, even in a setting where she may have been forced to do so. It was only a couple of floors, they didn't have to speak! </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The elevator beeped to signal it was going down to the ground floor, the number on the side illuminating. The ex-roommates stood in silence, refusing to speak to one another in the compact setting. The elevator continued to go down from one of the highest floors before suddenly - it stopped. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>They both waited in anticipation for the elevator to continue to go down and nothing happened. Max looked around the elevator for an indication that they weren't about to have been stuck in an elevator together. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Max stepped over to the buttons, which were now completely dull and no longer lit up. She tapped her finger aggressively against the button with no results. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Stupid elevator. Stupid dumb fucking movie cliché shit." Max grumbled as she hit her finger against the button even more. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Stuck in an elevator with the person you've argued with? What was worse than that? </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"That's not going to help." </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Do you have any better ideas?" Max snapped, still feeling anger towards her situation with Connie. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"We could call for help. That's what the bell button does." Connie pointed out as if it was obvious. It was obvious - but not to Max. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Right." Max sighed, Connie always had an answer to everything. Sure, she was smart - but sometimes she was too smart that it was annoying. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Max pressed the button with the bell, awaiting some kind of response as it rang. Connie stood and watched as Max attempted to communicate with whoever it was that was on the other line. As it connected Max took a step back and explained the situation. They were stuck. That was it and that was all they needed to know. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"It'll probably be around thirty minutes. Sit tight." A voice crackled through the small speaker on the wall. Max's heart dropped at the thought. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Thirty minutes? We have a plane to catch! Hello? Hello?" Max jabbed the button once more but didn't get a response. "Useless. Fucking useless." Max sighed, before readjusting the beanie on the top of her head. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Connie watched as Max sulked, stepping away from the buttons on the elevator and staring up at a poster for a special type of beer. Why did they have to get stuck? Why did they have to get stuck together? This wasn't something they had ever anticipated. They had been avoiding each other since Southampton and now suddenly they were both trapped. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Connie pulled out her phone and checked the top for a signal. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"No signal." Connie stated before putting her phone back into her pocket. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Me either. We're going to be stuck here forever." Max groaned, placing her phone back in her pocket after quickly checking. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Max pressed her back against the wall and slid downwards, forcing herself into a seated position. The band were going to start to question where the hell they were within a couple of minutes. A part of Connie was terrified that they were going to have left them behind - Steven would have never allowed for that to have happened. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Max refused to look over towards Connie as she tucked her legs inwards and leant on the tops of her knees. There was a silence shared between the two of them that was distant and harrowing. There was nothing that Max nor Connie could have done to solve the issue. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Connie wanted to. Her time with Max over the past four years had been incredibly important to her and to have thrown that away in one swift movement was a lot to take in. It was wrong of them in a way to have gotten to a point where they couldn't speak to each other at all. A point where there was nothing that they wanted to say. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Although, despite that - Connie had a lot to say. She was sure that Max had a lot to say on the subject too. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Connie wanted to be stubborn. She didn’t want to have to apologise, although, over the past couple of days she had come to realise that perhaps she did owe it to Max to apologise for the way that she had behaved. It was wrong of her to say those things about Max and the way that she felt. Max didn’t deserve any of that. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s going to be pretty boring if we’re stuck in here for a long time and we don’t speak to each other.” Connie shrugged, leaning up against the opposite wall and staring down at her suitcase in the middle of the elevator. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Good. I like boring things.” Max commented, not bothering to look up at Connie. Her best friend’s words had upset her so much that it was hard to fathom the idea of an apology. The thing that hurt Max the most was the fact that it seemed as if Connie didn’t care at all about the things that she had said. She had expected Connie to come back with an apology at some point and nothing of the sorts came along. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We can’t ignore each other forever.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well, you’re making it pretty hard for me to do that.” Max grumbled, irritated that Connie continued to speak despite her not wanting to. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Connie sighed in response, Max wouldn’t have made anything easy for her. She never did. That was the problem that they had with their relationship - Max’s inability to be mature about these situations. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Although, perhaps it was Connie who struggled to be mature about the situations that she was presented. They both had a lot going on and they had to sympathise with one another to move on. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Connie pulled out her phone once again and scrolled through her music playing app, she had to get through to Max somehow. There was one song that she knew she could play to try and make things less awkward. A song that she knew for a fact had been written specifically for her and Max. Steven had already specified. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Connie pressed play on Star Destroyers’ most upbeat song on their newest album, </span>
  <em>
    <span>Pizza Pizza Pizza Pineapple</span>
  </em>
  <span>. A song about two college friends who go on tour with a band. A song about forgetting about your responsibilities and doing whatever makes you happy. A song about eating pizza every night because that’s your life now. A song about loving your friends. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>As the song played, Max looked up at Connie, a little confused as to why her phone was suddenly blasting the song in the elevator that they had been trapped in. Max realised exactly what song was being played through the speaker, a song that had become their staple song and the one that was mostly played during the middle of the show due to how upbeat and fun it was. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Max decided not to fight it, sitting and listening to the lyrics as they played. She knew what they were about and yet at that moment it took her a while to listen to them. She was still in complete shock that her favourite band had written a song about </span>
  <em>
    <span>her</span>
  </em>
  <span>. Every song on the album was in some respect about Connie, except this one was about her </span>
  <em>
    <span>and</span>
  </em>
  <span> Max. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>They came as a pair. They always had. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Connie stood and listened to the lyrics with Max, trying not to think too much about what the song was trying to say. Connie had been listening to the song a lot more as of late, since her fight with Max, it was the only song that she wanted to listen to. One that reminded her of all of the great things that they did together. The song that reminded her that without Max, a lot of things that had happened recently in her life wouldn’t have happened.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>As the song came to an end, Connie picked up her phone and turned the music off. Max didn’t bother to look up as Connie stepped beside her and pressed her back against the elevator. She slowly slid down to a seated position to sit beside Max. Connie felt deflated, selfish and alone. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>With everything that had been going on, it was wrong of Connie to have pushed away from her best friend during a time when she needed her the most. It wasn’t fair on Max and Connie certainly could have used the support. Max needed it too. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I know you don’t want to speak to me, but I want you to know that I’m sorry.” Connie pulled her legs up to her chest to match Max’s position against the back of the elevator. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Max kept quiet, unsure of how to respond. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It was wrong of me to put all of those things on you and I regret it. I know it’s no excuse, but I was wrapped up in my head with my own problems. I didn’t take a moment to think about how that could have made you feel and I’m sorry.” Connie admitted in a soft tone, unsure if what she was saying was getting through to Max. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Max shuffled about in her position for a moment, absorbing the words and calculating them within her mind. Max had expected for her to have been the one to have to apologise first, something that she didn’t want. That way, she would have been giving into Connie and she didn’t want to do that for what felt like the millionth time. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I understand.” Max breathed deeply.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m really sorry, Max. I mean it.” Connie’s mind was flooded by guilt. She should have never got to a point where she had treated her best friend that way. It was wrong of her to treat someone who had always been so supportive of her like trash. It wasn’t fair. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m...sorry too.” Max found it hard to admit the words, although she had also said some pretty hard-hitting things that she would have to apologise for. Speaking to Steven had helped in some respect when it came to their relationship, but it hadn’t made her any less mad at Connie. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Things shouldn’t have been that way and they both knew it. Even though they had lived together for four years, they had never gotten into an argument quite like the one that they had been in when in Southampton. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m sorry about Stephen Space-Wolf too, I know he was important to you.” Connie finally came to her senses with the stuffed animal, of course, he was important to Max. Max was going to have been upset about losing it regardless of what other people thought. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s fine. He’s just a stuffed animal.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“He’s not just a stuffed animal!” Connie suddenly defended Stephen Space-Wolf.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah, Connie - he is. I shouldn’t have been so upset. It’s stupid.” Max sighed, she had allowed Connie’s previous words to get to her. They had gotten her to a point where she didn’t quite care so much about the stuffed wolf that had originally meant so much to her. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No! You have every right to be upset about him.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You don’t have to pretend to care to make me feel better.” Max groaned, knowing that only a couple of days ago Connie had expressed her true feelings in the heat of the moment.  </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m not pretending. I </span>
  <em>
    <span>do </span>
  </em>
  <span>care.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You didn’t care the other day.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I...I said some pretty horrible things and I’m sorry.” Connie apologised again.  </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Yeah, I know." Max sighed, replying to both her statements. There was so much for her to apologise for that it was hard to know if the place she was coming from was genuine. It certainly seemed genuine when everything that she had said the other day had been brutally honest. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Max... I'm </span>
  <em>
    <span>really </span>
  </em>
  <span>sorry." Connie practically begged for forgiveness from her best friend. She was in a position that the way that both of them felt was completely valid and that was okay. They were both in the right to have been upset with one another that it was hard on both of them. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Max had a lot going on and so did Connie. That didn't invalidate the way that both of them felt about the argument that they had. They had both said some pretty nasty things that needed to have been resolved. It certainly was hard to be the bigger person. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“...I’m sorry for the things I said about you and Steven. For being...</span>
  <em>
    <span>a peen</span>
  </em>
  <span>.” Max admitted with sincerity in her voice. Connie looked over at her and smiled before snorting at her comment. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We were both being peens.” Connie laughed, hating the fact that she said the godforsaken word in a serious tone. Max smiled at her comment, finding it hilarious that she had gotten Connie to speak the word. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We both had reasons.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We still shouldn’t have treated each other that way - it shouldn’t have ever been an excuse.” Connie confirmed, making sure that they were on the same page. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Agreed.” Max stared forward for a few moments before playing with her fingers as they sat in silence. There was a moment shared before them before Max decided to pick up on the conversation. “I should probably speak to you about something important...I don’t know who else to speak to about it - but don’t freak out, okay?” Max dipped her eyebrows over at Connie, seeking her companionship. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Uh, sure - what is it?” Connie questioned, looking over at her with concern. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Max pondered on whether or not she should have told her best friend what her plan for the future was. She had come up with the decision not too long ago and wanted nothing more than to have shared the decision with her best friend. Connie had been convinced the whole time that Max had everything figured out when it came to her future - but it seemed as if she was completely out of her depth too. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I dropped out of law school.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What?” Connie’s expression dropped without warning, although Max has requested that she didn’t freak out - there was no way that she couldn’t when news as big as that had just fallen from her lips. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Max had pushed so hard throughout college so that she could have completed her dreams of going into family law. Complete what she believed she should have achieved to have gotten far in life. It was something that she had always strived towards as a way of making sure that she gave herself a goal. Life was pretty black and white when there was nothing for her to aim to. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You said you wouldn’t freak out!” Max groaned. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well, I didn’t expect it to be that!” Connie argued back, not realising how intense the conversation would have gotten. She hadn’t expected the words to come out of Max’s mouth. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’ve been thinking a lot and it just doesn’t seem like something that I want to do any more.” Max admitted as she held onto her hands, threading her fingers together and ringing them out as a way to stimulate her mind within the moment. There was so much that she wanted to talk about inside of the locked metal box that had trapped them both. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“But...you’ve been working towards it for years.” Connie couldn’t quite understand why Max would have wanted to throw all of that away. What could she have possibly wanted to do instead? </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’ve realised over these last couple of weeks that sometimes you can’t decide your future, you just have to take every day as it comes. Signing up for college four years ago I was all for going down that career path because it was something I felt as if I had to do. I had to make my family proud of me - I had to prove that I was something. I just wanted to get to a point where I never had to worry about money. My family struggled a lot as a kid and I just thought that having a good job would mean I would never have to be in that position. I don’t know what I wanted to prove, but it was certainly proving I was something more than I appeared.” Max ran her fingers through her hair before turning towards Connie and pressing her lips into a thin line. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Max...you worked so hard for your grades.” Connie was distraught, completely blown away that Max had spent four years in college and was suddenly so ready to throw it all away. She was incredibly talented in a classroom and Connie knew that she had a fantastic plan when it came to her future career goals. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Can you really see me helping someone file for divorce?” Max scoffed as she pulled on her t-shirt. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I mean...you’d be pretty badass.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“The only thing badass about it would be that I would get to wear a suit every day.” Max laughed - she had thought about it a lot. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“All suited and booted - with a tie too?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh man, the best tie you’ve ever seen!” Max chuckled with a smirk. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Connie couldn’t understand the concept of going to college for one thing and then deciding against it. Max was essentially throwing everything away by saying that she didn’t want to go to law school. It would have meant sitting in a bunch of student debt for no reason. Connie went into college with a plan, except she left college without one. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It was funny how much things could change in four years. The way that people adapted and changed to the things that surrounded them. The way that people learnt a lot about the education system that they didn’t quite realise before. The way that people were finally taught about the real world the moment that they graduated and were thrown out of a system that didn’t even help guide them through the next steps of their lives. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“So, you just don’t want to go anymore? You’ve thought about this a lot - right?” Connie was still trying to wrap her head around the idea. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I figured that there were so many different things in life to explore and spending another four years sitting through boring seminars was going to make me rip all my hair out. I didn’t think I could cope.” Max shrugged as she looked over at Connie, telling her the complete truth that she was yet to mention to anyone else. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Unlike Connie’s parents, Max’s dad was understanding and would have completely accepted if Max didn’t want to go to law school in the end. It wasn’t as if he was a judgemental and pushy person - he didn’t matter as long as his daughter was going to have been happy. That didn’t change the fact that Max herself was terrified of revealing the idea to her family. She would have had to cancel her admission sooner rather than later, but time was running out. She had to decide now. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She had already decided. Max wasn’t going to be going halfway across the country to law school in the new school year. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What are you going to do instead?” Connie cocked an eyebrow, a little concerned that Max hadn’t thought of a backup plan. Connie couldn’t have spoken much on the subject considering she had spent a lot of her time debating what she wanted to do with the rest of her life. Career paths were just options that she wasn’t completely confident on just yet. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I have to find my big gigantic drum kit!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What?” Connie was confused. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh, it’s a </span>
  <em>
    <span>Freaks and Geeks</span>
  </em>
  <span> quote. It was in a Dikembe song.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What does it mean?” Connie was a little bit confused by the pop culture reference and was interested to know more about the deeper meaning behind it. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well, it’s essentially the idea that you have to </span>
  <em>
    <span>do what you love and fuck the rest</span>
  </em>
  <span>!” Max smiled over at Connie as she continued to sit with her back against the wall of the elevator. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>They were most certainly going to have missed their flight at this rate. Now and then they wondered if the band was questioning their disappearance. Steven was more than likely pacing back and forth on the spot questioning where Connie had gotten to - all sorts of thoughts running through his mind. Probably something to do with alien abduction. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“That’s...that makes sense.” Connie took in a deep breath, thinking about Max’s words. It did make sense! </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Life was about doing the things that you love and as long as you were achieving that, not a lot else mattered. Max just wanted to be happy. Would she have been happy being a lawyer? Probably not…</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I always thought that being a lawyer would be super cool, but the more I think about it the more I just want to...have fun. I know that you’re probably going to give me that boomer shit about living a party lifestyle - but I really think this is something that could go beyond my twenties. What if I found a career doing something that I love? Something that I know better than anything? Y'know...special interests can be superpowers.” Max picked at the fraying wristband she was wearing, the woven fabric she had gotten at a music festival a couple of years back. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You’re going to say something to do with music, right?” Connie snorted, reading her best friend’s mind. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Nope. I was thinking more along the lines of milking cows for the rest of my life. I’d love to be a farmer.” Max spoke with a monotone voice, causing Connie to question whether or not she was being serious in what she was saying. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Huh?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No, I’m kidding - it’s music. I want to do something where I can go to gigs all the time! I want to fuck up my hearing!” Max threw her hands in the air and giggled, knowing that what she was talking about would have made her incredibly happy. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Professional crowd surfer?” Connie laughed as she tucked her knees up to her chest and held onto her legs. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I don’t know if that is a real job title, but if it is - I want it.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You already have that role in my mind.” Connie complimented. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Aw, ConCon - I’m going to fucking cry.” Max held her hand against her chest as she pouted. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No crying. I don’t want to drown in here with you.” Connie joked as she pushed Max gently in the shoulder, continuing to think about Max’s plan of action for the future. It would have been interesting to find out more. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>If Connie had spent so much time attempting to figure out what she wanted to do with her future only for Max to have turned around and told her that it was okay to change paths she had finally concluded that she didn’t know what to do with herself. Although, with Max’s change in career path it was clear that it was a possible route to take. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>If Max could do it, so could she. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It wasn’t as if Max couldn’t be a lawyer if she wanted to - she had all the qualifications to continue her study. It wasn’t as if she wasn’t smart enough, Max was incredibly smart. Annoyingly so. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Connie had always been jealous of Max’s hatred for school, but her gifted nature of learning meant that even though she hated learning - she was stupidly good at it. Embarrassingly so, Connie had even come to Max for help on some assignments. Max was just good at a lot of things that surprised people, especially considering her fun party-girl persona that most people saw. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Only Connie got to see the unmasked version of Max who was sweet, quiet and occasionally just as funny as the confident facade she usually used. Although, Connie never would have wanted to admit how much Max made her laugh. Connie loved Max either way and continued to feel somewhat guilty about the way that she had treated her best friend throughout the past year. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It felt as if they had been drifting apart from one another for a while and seeing them back together as a team inside of the elevator was nice. They did everything together back in college and Connie would have been lying if she had ever said that she wouldn’t have been lost if Max went to law school. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Connie was also trying to figure out what her life would have been like without Max in it. Of course, if Max were to have gone to law school Connie couldn’t have helped but feel a little jealous that she would have been able to build up another relationship with a new roommate that she had met in college. Connie would have been replaced. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>However, what both Max and Connie never quite realised about one another was that they were irreplaceable within each other’s lives. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Even though sometimes Max believed that Steven was out there to replace her as Connie’s best friend, which admittedly he had made his way up the list - but there was only one Max Kayori. That was what mattered the most to Connie. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Max had grown up in a single-parent household that didn’t quite bring in the most amount of money. There had been times where she had seen her dad struggle before settling down into other lines of work once his boxing career had come to an end. Max knew that she never wanted to be in a position where she couldn't support herself and whatever family she may have had in the future. She was going to do everything she could to make sure that she secured a career that would have supported her for the rest of her life. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Being a lawyer seemed to have ticked all those boxes. That was what felt so fantastic about getting her degrees. There was a chance that no matter what she did she was going to have been able to find herself a decent job, or at least she could try. However, despite all of that - Max had come to realise that money didn’t mean everything. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Being happy was the most important thing. She could have had all the money in the world as a lawyer, but she sure as hell wouldn’t have been happy about it for very long. There was only so much happiness that came from buying a Mustang…</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Max</span>
  <em>
    <span> really</span>
  </em>
  <span> wanted a Mustang. However, she could have eventually saved up enough to get herself one day in the future. She thought about what it would have been like to do what she loved and have all of the money that she needed to make sure that she could support herself through her life and treat herself when she deserved. She always deserved to have been treated. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Is this the part of the movie where we kiss?” Max wiggled her eyebrows towards Connie as their conversation came to a close. The best friends had been reunited in one of the most trope-y ways imaginable. There was no way that either of them would have predicted an apology coming from either of them after they were trapped inside an elevator together. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No!” Connie giggled as she pushed Max in the shoulder. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No love for the Maxster?” Max pouted, rubbing her arm where Connie had pushed. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You know I’ll always love you!” Connie laughed as she placed her head on Max’s shoulder and put her arm around her best friend. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Max smiled as she gently patted the top of Connie’s head and rested her cheek against her hair. It was nice to have her best friend back. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah, I know…” Max sighed with a smile.  </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>There was a sudden flicker of the light above them as the elevator juddered. Max noticed that Connie had tightened the grip of her arm around her. Connie looked up at the ceiling of the elevator, a little terrified that they were about to plummet to their death. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Max...what if it falls?” Connie’s eyes widened at the thought. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What falls? Niagara!?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“The elevator!” Connie didn’t want her fear to come across as irrational as she held onto her best friend, a little bit scared that they were going to die together in a metal tomb. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Shit. I forgot whether or not you’re supposed to jump in a falling elevator. I watched a video on it once.” Max pondered, holding onto Connie the best she could in return. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The elevator juddered once more. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Max!” Connie wasn’t usually scared of this kind of thing, logic would usually be on her side. Although, so much had gone wrong in the UK that it wouldn’t have even surprised Connie if both of them fell to their death in the hotel. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Okay! Okay! Well, if we do die I need you to know that I only used your toothbrush once!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What?!?” Connie unlatched herself from Max as they both raised their voices in fear. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I left mine at home, okay?!? I didn’t want to go to the store and I didn’t have any gum.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Just use your finger!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Phrasing</span>
  </em>
  <span>, Connie!” Max shook her head as the elevator juddered once more, indicating it was continuing to fall at a gradual pace. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You used my toothbrush!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It was once! One time, Connie!” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Do you know how much bacter-” Connie’s words were suddenly cut off by another shake of the elevator. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We’re going to fucking die, man! Tell my dad he’s hella cool, tell Carter he’s a douche, tell Ryan he’s kind of cool and tell Dylan his streaming career isn’t going anywhere!” Max squealed. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“If you die - I die too!” Connie stressed. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh shit! We're toast!” Max gripped onto Connie tighter as the elevator dropped slightly causing them both to let out a small scream.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>They both closed their eyes in horror, terrified of what may have happened if they had fallen to their death ever so dramatically. Connie thought about how she would have died and her parent's last words to her were how much she disappointed them. Max thought about who would avenge her if she were to die via elevator. How would you even murder an elevator? </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Just as they both squealed in fear there was a sudden 'ping' sound that came from the top of the elevator, indicating that it was in fact on the ground floor. The doors came apart slowly as Max and Connie were suddenly greeted by a man in overalls. He scratched his head at the two young women huddled up opposite the door, fear injected into them. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Bit of a bumpy ride there, huh? Sorry about that." The man laughed at the sight of the women as both Max and Connie removed themselves from each other's grip and brushed themselves off as they stood up. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"If an elevator falls - do you jump? I think I saw a video about it once." Max questioned in a serious tone as she furrowed her eyebrows towards the technician that was on site. He scratched his head once more as Connie grabbed ahold of her suitcase. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"I'm not sure…" The technician stared back at her. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Come on, we've got a flight to catch!" Connie groaned as she pulled on Max's t-shirt. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Thank you for not killing us, elevator man!" Max waved as she pulled her suitcase into the lobby. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"No...problem." </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Once they got out of the elevator they looked around the lobby for the rest of their party. Right by the reception, Connie noticed the band with Steven leaning on the desk desperately showing off a photograph that they had taken together with Max not too long ago. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Are you sure you haven't seen them? Can you check the CCTV? Did they leave their room? Have they checked out? Connie is about this tall, really pretty and-" Steven began to shoot questions as a way to find them both. He was incredibly panicked and the rest of the band were starting to worry too. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Steven…" Jenny tugged on his denim jacket. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Just a minute, Jenny." Steven shooed Jenny away as politely as possible as he pushed his phone closer towards the poor receptionist who most likely didn't get paid enough to deal with this kind of scenario. "This is Max, she's about this tall and is wearing a Foxing t-shirt. Foxing is a band. The t-shirt has rabbits on it, which I know is confusing because you'd think it would be foxes, but-" Steven began to trail off the conversation, not quite getting his point across in a way that he wanted. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Steven, look!" Jenny was rather insistent the next time that she tugged on his jacket. Steven finally looked up, noticing that both Max and Connie were walking towards the rest of the band. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Connie! Max!" Steven excitedly pushed away from the desk. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Found them." The receptionist mumbled as she gently pushed Steven's phone back across the desk and sighed before typing on the computer. Stupid Americans. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Steven ran towards Connie at full force, keeping his arms either side of him as he made his way in for a hug. The hug was a little more aggressive than Connie had anticipated, lifting her off her feet as he held her tightly in excitement. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"I thought I'd lost you!" Steven chuckled as he held her up, Connie attempted to wiggle away from him. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"No, silly, we were-" </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Trapped in an elevator for twenty minutes. What the fuck? Don't we get free tea for this shit?" Max complained as she dragged her suitcase behind her and expressed her frustrations. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Dude, your bag is full of free tea bags from the hotel rooms. You haven’t even been drinking it.” Sour Cream inputted as the band reunited with their newest additions. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Shut up, man. I might drink it one day!” Max scoffed, feeling somewhat attacked. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Steven gently allowed Connie to stand back on her two feet. She touched his chest as she looked towards him with a smile - he was so happy to have seen her. Admittedly, he was a little bit worried they would have left her in the UK. He really didn’t want that to have happened.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I missed you.” Steven grinned, happy to have finally been with her once again. Even her just going missing for half an hour was enough to raise his blood pressure. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I missed you too.” Connie giggled, it truly was ridiculous how much they disliked being apart. It was the sort of thing that Connie never saw herself being so torn over when she was younger. Love didn’t seem real until she found it for herself. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“So, how was it being stuck in an elevator with Max?” Steven cocked an eyebrow, it didn’t seem as if they had murdered one another. Something that just a few days ago he was sure would have happened if they had ever found themselves in a confined space. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We...apologised for being peens.” Connie tittered slightly, thinking back to the memory with her best friend. She was so glad that they had finally gotten everything out in the open about how they felt. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Her mind jumped back to the idea of Max no longer attending law school. The idea was still strange to her.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You did? Well, that’s good.” Steven laughed, unfortunately understanding exactly what she meant by that. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It is </span>
  <em>
    <span>good</span>
  </em>
  <span>! I get to annoy my best friend again - but she’s brutally aware of it rather than being a passive-aggressive asshat to one another. Right, ConCon?” Max nudged Connie in her shoulder, causing her to detach herself from Steven. Connie laughed at the bump, mouthing an ‘ow’ and rubbing the top of her arm. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Right! Here I was getting used to the quiet!” Connie reached out to push Max back.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"I'm the devil on your shoulder, baby." Max winked and clicked her tongue as she dodged Connie's hand. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Guys! We’ve got to </span>
  <em>
    <span>goooooo</span>
  </em>
  <span>!” Jenny groaned, thinking about how they all could have been irritating to one another once they had all piled into the cab and not before.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Connie, Max and Steven all sighed like children as they held onto their suitcases and made their way out of the hotel lobby. They all threw their items into the back of the cab.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>As they made their one last journey across the city Connie stared out of the window watching as London passed her by. The city was full of life. People going about their everyday life, tourists on holiday and commuters wanting the fastest route to their next location. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The city was beautiful. Connie inhaled deeply, leaning her elbow on the window as they crossed over the River Thames to get to their next location. She was surprisingly going to have missed the country that held so many good and bad memories for her that it was hard to get the correct balance between the two. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She had banked on the idea of one day being able to return when they weren’t so...depressed. It had been a horrible time knowing that there were so many issues that continued to batter them throughout their time abroad. From Steven and his Mom’s old bandmates to Connie and her parents - they hadn’t had a break the entire time they had been there. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Connie wanted to have called the UK a type of vacation, but she felt as if she needed some kind of vacation after being there. Steven had been working every evening, which meant that it didn’t particularly feel like a vacation. Connie wanted to use the time to bridge herself from college to reality and perhaps even a real job...but that was just proving harder than she first thought. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>With Max, it had all seemed so easy, but with Max not even knowing what she wanted to do with her life it didn’t exactly give Connie the sort of confidence that she needed to continue. Connie couldn’t have even looked at the job page anymore without cringing at the thought. She had no idea what she wanted to do in life and with Max to back her - maybe that wasn’t such a bad thing? Did anyone really know?</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>People could have made as many plans as they wanted, but there was nothing in life to say that those plans were going to have worked out exactly how you had expected. The thing that Connie had learnt the most whilst being in the UK was that there certainly wasn’t any kind of guarantees in life. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Everything could change without a moment’s notice. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The band piled into the airport and attempted to find out where they needed to go, making their way through security. Steven grimaced at the price of getting the guitar overseas but agreed to it anyway. He wasn’t ever going to have left the precious item behind - he had already spent far too much money on it. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Luckily, with them all being ever so slightly late when it came to getting to the airport they had discovered that their flight had been delayed for an hour or so - giving them some kind of opportunity to relax. This just meant that it had left them sitting in uncomfortable seating in the airport, attempting to entertain themselves. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It doesn't feel like we were away for very long." Sour Cream sighed, wishing that they had been on tour for much longer. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Since Steven's boring now - I don't know when our next tour is going to be." Jenny groaned, folding over her legs as they sat in the airport and awaited confirmation on their flight. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Hey! I'm not boring!" Steven raised his voice to a squeak to defend himself. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Nah man, you're in love - it's just the same." Max laughed. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"I'm sure that you guys will tour again soon." Connie made sure to add. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"When's the Asia tour? Star Destroyers need to visit every continent. We're global, baby." Buck questioned, a little too excited at the idea. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"How about Australia?" Jenny shrugged. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Kangaroos are rad." Sour Cream nodded his head.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"I don't think I could fly for that long." Steven thought about planes. It wasn't so much that he was scared of them - but it certainly crossed his mind that a longer flight may not have been enjoyable. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Xanax, man. That's all you need." Sour Cream slowly pulled out a plastic case full of pills. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Dude, how many of them do you take?" Max furrowed her eyes. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Two.</span>
  <em>
    <span>" </span>
  </em>
  <span>Sour Cream paused. "Too</span>
  <em>
    <span> many.</span>
  </em>
  <span>"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Nobody said a word. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>There wasn't too long between them arriving at the airport and catching their flight. Eventually, they boarded the plane and made their way home. Steven had surprisingly opted to sleep on the plane as he once again took the window seat. Connie sat between him and Max, gently prodding her best friend throughout the flight. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"We're okay now, right?" Connie questioned as Max took her earphone out and looked over at her. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Yeah, we're okay." Max smiled, glad that she could have said those words considering the fight that they had previously. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"I just want to say I'm sorry...again." Connie whispered as a way not to disturb the other passengers. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Connie, it's cool. You don't need to apologise again - it's fine. We </span>
  <em>
    <span>both</span>
  </em>
  <span> messed up on something big, but it's over now. I forgive you and I hope you forgive me too."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"I do forgive you."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"So, what's the matter? Why so glum, chum?" Max's eyebrows dipped with concern for her friend. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Connie pressed her lips into a thin line and stared off to the side. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"I think...I think you should ask Greg for a job at the studio and move to Nashville so you can be close to me...and Steven...and the band." Connie clenched her fists together and spoke as quickly as she could.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Wait? Really?" Max's face lit up. She hadn't quite expected for Connie to have been so open to that idea. It wasn't as if Max hadn't thought about it. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Y-yeah! Greg would be lucky to have you and, well - I didn't really like the idea of my best friend being in Massachusetts or Michigan either. That's too far away!" Connie smiled as she spoke, seeing how excited Max was getting just through her expression.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"You really think Mister Universe would help me?"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"You know he's like...the kindest man in all of existence - right? You've met him multiple times!" </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"I know, but...woah. Greg Universe is a real famous person! Damn, I'd be lying if I said I hadn't thought about it...but the fact that even you've suggested it makes it so much more...real! It could happen! I could work for </span>
  <em>
    <span>the</span>
  </em>
  <span> Greg Universe. Insane! Unreal! Heh." Max chuckled slightly to herself, getting overly excited at the thought. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"It doesn't matter what you do Max - you're going to be great at it no matter what!" Connie continued to build her friend's confidence. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"You know, that's really nice Concorde - but you should probably take that advice for yourself too. You can do whatever you want! Hell, you could be a rocket scientist or work in a zoo selling keychains...I don't think it would matter. You'd always put all your effort into it and give it your best. Fancy college degrees don't really mean anything. You can prove yourself in other ways." Max spoke nothing but the truth as Connie sat beside her and listened. It made sense. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"I have no idea what I want to do." Connie shrugged. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"And I thought I knew when I </span>
  <em>
    <span>clearl</span>
  </em>
  <span>y didn't. Things change and that's okay." </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Yeah...you're right."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"I think you should turn forty and write an autobiography about your travels with the one and only </span>
  <em>
    <span>Steven Universe</span>
  </em>
  <span>. Man, just think of the movie rights. I better be in it! Also, I know we'll be super old then - but I still want to be able to play myself. I think I'd be incredible on the big screen." Max nodded, straightening her imaginary collar. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"An autobiography? Why would anyone want to read that? My life is so </span>
  <em>
    <span>boring</span>
  </em>
  <span>!" Connie scoffed. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Boring?! ConCon! Don't give me that shit! You fell in love with a </span>
  <em>
    <span>famous</span>
  </em>
  <span> dude! This isn't some John Green level shit - but it's close. Teenage girls would eat it up like fucking chips!" Max gripped onto the sides of her seat, whispering as loudly as she could over to Connie. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"That's ridiculous!" Connie laughed. There was no way that anyone would want to read a story about her. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"I'm telling you - </span>
  <em>
    <span>best seller</span>
  </em>
  <span>." Max shrugged. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Connie stared at the back of the seat in front of her. She glanced over to Steven who was sitting beside her asleep and contemplated the idea. Maybe Max was right? Maybe writing some kind of book would have been a good idea…</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It was an </span>
  <em>
    <span>idea</span>
  </em>
  <span>. That was more than she had come up with in weeks. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>With a few more hours on the plane, Connie once again got stuck within her mind of contemplating her next move. The next couple of weeks was going to have been tough - especially with her parents. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>They finally made their way off the plane. It was within seconds of retrieving their bags that Connie noticed that her phone was ringing, pulling it out of her pocket and noticing the name that had flashed up on the screen. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Connie stared down at the ringing phone and thought about whether or not she should have answered it. It was something that she had been thinking about for a while now and after she was back in the country, she felt as if she owed her parents some kind of reassurance to know that their daughter had arrived home safely. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Are you going to answer it?” Steven peered over her shoulder, asking the question with a shaky voice. He knew that Connie had been contemplating having another conversation with her parents for a while, despite being terrified about how that may have gone down.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Connie didn’t bother to respond as she pressed the green button on her phone and lifted it to her ear, suddenly greeted by the sound of her mother’s voice. A voice that the last time she had heard them was full of anger. This time…</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Connie? Are you about to board the flight back to Beach City?” Her mother questioned. Connie wasn’t surprised that there wasn’t much substance to the conversation that her mother was attempting to have with her. Although, it still somewhat hurt her feelings to know that there wasn’t a nice ‘how are you’ before she went into her usual interrogation tactics. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m not getting the flight back home, Mom.” Connie stood her ground, if her mother was going to have been blunt with her - she may as well have been blunt back. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Connie-”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You got my text, right? I got yours.” Connie snapped, a little more blunt than she had imagined. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You should have responded to us.” Priyanka Maheswaran didn’t quite raise her voice enough to sound angry, but enough for Connie to hear her disappointed tone. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s hard to listen to someone who isn’t willing to listen to me in return.” Connie returned the disappointed tone. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She heard rustling in the microphone as if someone was shuffling around on the other side of the phone. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Connie?” A much softer yet deeper voice spoke through the phone, a slightly different technique to what her mother was used to. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Dad?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“How are you doing, kiddo?” Her dad spoke in a more energetic tone, suddenly making her feel at home. His voice made her miss being at home through the summers. Spending time with her parents wasn’t all bad. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m...I’m okay.” Connie choked on her words, not quite understanding where her dad’s change of tone was coming from. It was likely that a lot of the texts that she had been receiving from them were written by her mother. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Although, that didn’t stop her from thinking about the faces that her father had pulled on the video chat in front of Steven. He was disappointed too. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Connie knew that the situation with her parents was something that couldn't have been solved overnight, no matter how much they tried. It wasn't going to have been as easy as it was to reconcile as it was with Max. This was built up over what seemed to have been a lifetime of lies. There is no way of being able to get away from the disappointing looks that she knew she would have to put up with once she finally went back home. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It was going to have been an incredible contrast to when she had graduated and the looks of pride her parents had given her. Spoken to her in such a way that made her feel valued and important. She knew that her parents probably would have never thought that of her ever again. She had her opportunity and she had lost it. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Your trip sounded like a lot of fun..." Her dad attempted to make some kind of conversation. There was no way of being able to tell what face her mother was pulling as she more than likely stood beside him whilst he spoke. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"It was a lot of fun. Thanks, Dad." Connie half-smiled, at least her dad was making some kind of effort that she knew her mother wasn't. He had always been seen as a kind of mediator between the two of them, a role that he wasn't sure he enjoyed all of the time. It was hard to be stuck between them both when occasionally he agreed with both of them on the topics they would often debate. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>There was a short silence shared between the two of them. It wasn't awkward - but it was certainly stale. Connie looked over at Steven who was standing beside her for reassurance inside of the busy airport. Of course, he wanted to make sure that she wasn't bullied into something that she didn't want to do. Even if Steven wanted to prevent something from happening, he knew that there was no way that he could have gone against the wrath of Connie's parents. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"I wish you had just talked to us…" Doug suddenly sighed, catching Connie off guard. She knew that the conversation was coming, but that didn't mean that she thought it was going to have been so soon. She certainly hadn't expected her dad to be the first one to pick up on the conversation topic and force her to speak to them about it. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"It can be hard to talk to you..." Connie admitted with a small sigh, matching the one that her father had given her through the phone. She didn't want to argue with them, that wasn't her intention. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Doug wasn't quite sure how he could have responded. He too was looking to have been as passive as possible when it came to whatever argument he was going to have had with his daughter. The last thing he wanted to do was to make her feel smaller than she already did. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>There had been some kind of breakdown in communication. Where communication was the most important thing between Connie and her parent's - it had faltered. There was so much that could have gone wrong throughout that breakdown that it was hard for them to have gone back on that. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It wasn't the fact that Connie ever wanted her parents to change in the sense of changing themselves - but giving her enough breathing room to make her own mistakes and to be the person who she wanted to be was good enough. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Looking at Max as a good example was the best way for her to examine it. Although Richard Kayori could be an incredibly smothering and loving parent at times, it was clear that he cared a lot about Max and the choices that she wanted to make. Connie knew that Max hadn't told any of her family yet about the fact that she no longer wanted to go to law school - but Connie didn't think that would matter. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>If Connie had chosen to take that career path and then suddenly switched her ideas on her head she didn't think that her parents would have ever been able to forgive her. It was also one of the many reasons why she was currently struggling to make sure that she found a career using the subjects that she had been taught for so long. Except - she couldn't. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Connie wasn't like Max and living with the idea that her parents were disappointed in her was going to have been tough. The one thing that came to Connie's mind when her dad was speaking to her was that her parents were willing enough to want to talk to her. Despite going against them it felt as if they still wanted to know what was going on with her life. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Of course they did - they were her parents! They still loved her no matter what, despite all of the things that made it feel as if they didn't. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Sometimes Connie just felt as if her parents loved her too much - perhaps that was the problem? </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"It can?" Doug's voice cracked as he spoke, feeling somewhat guilty that his daughter felt that way about them. It was every parent's nightmare for their kid to not feel as if they could speak to them. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Yeah…I wish I could have." Connie spoke softly, desperately wanting to apologise but not wanting to be the first to do it. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"You lied to us - a lot." </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"I know." </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"We're incredibly hurt by it. Why didn't you pick up our calls or messages?"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"I'm an adult, Dad. I sent you a message to say that I was okay. That should be enough." Connie's tone turned somewhat cold, wanting to make sure that he got her point across. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Once more, there was a shuffle on the other line. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Connie. This is your mother speaking. I don't have the energy to argue with you. You need to come home." Priyanka scowled, taking the phone off Doug and making sure that she could get a word in herself. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Do you even want me to come home or are you just saying that?" </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Another bout of silence.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We want you to come home.” Her mother’s voice was somewhat broken. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I know you’re upset with me, Mom. You don’t have to hide it - you didn’t before. I know you don’t want me home.” Connie sighed, irritated by her parent’s denial. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You lied to us.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I know…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“That’s not something that we can forgive overnight.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"I'm not asking you to."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"It's going to take a while to solve this." </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s okay...I think I’m going to stay with Steven for a while anyway.” Connie glanced over at Steven who was standing beside her. He nodded slowly with half a smile, making sure that she knew that her decision was perfectly okay. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Her mother processed the information for a moment before formulating a response. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“That’s probably going to be for the best…” A sigh and a confirmation came through the phone. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Priyanka wasn’t going to win in the situation, but it was good to know that her daughter had somewhere to stay - even if it was with someone that she disapproved of. Connie listened to her mother’s response, a part of her feeling a little horrible that she didn’t have much more to say. A part of Connie was hoping that she would have fought back with anger. It didn’t happen. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well, I’d better go - but I can text you when I’m back at Steven’s?” Connie attempted to allow them into a part of her life, as much as she didn’t want them to control her decisions, she still wanted them to love her just as much. The worst thing possible was for them to have disowned her for her choices. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The Maheswarens didn’t even know where Steven lived, other than ‘Nashville’. Her mother desperately held back the urge to press for an address. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“That would be sensible.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah, it would be.” The conversation drowned in a pool of awkwardness. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Connie chewed on her bottom lip for a moment, continuing to hold the phone to her ear as she looked over at Steven with concern in her eyes. She wasn’t sure where the conversation was going, but she knew that it needed to end. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Connie took a deep breath. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I love you, Mom.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It was a risky decision, but she wasn’t quite sure how else to end the conversation. She needed them to know that despite everything - she still loved her parents. She only hoped for the same in return. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We love you too, Connie.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Within seconds the phone call had ended, leaving Connie slightly shocked by how it had gone. It had gone…</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“How did it go?” Steven stepped as close as he could, gently placing his hand on her arm for comfort. It could have gone one of two ways. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Connie gently removed the phone away from her face and stared down at the screen as she checked the time of the call. She smiled sweetly down at her phone. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“...It went well.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“T-that’s good! Right?” Steven had a twinge of excitement in his tone. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Y-yeah...I guess so.” Connie placed her phone back into her pocket and smirked up at Steven. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Without hesitation she wrapped her arms around him, pulling him in for a hug as she rested her head on his chest. Steven smiled into her hair as he held her as close as possible. She was so glad to have Steven, even if she didn’t have her parents...</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Saying goodbye to the band had been fun. Max had gotten onto a connecting flight to Michigan, knowing that her dad would have cooked the nicest dinner imaginable upon her return. Steven was pretty jealous once she had explained what they were going to have eaten. Within seconds of Max mentioning Steven’s adoration for the food, he had been invited round for dinner at some point in the future. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Steven and Connie got into a Toober to get back to Steven’s apartment, a place in which they had stayed together a few times in the past. Immediately upon entering Connie placed her bags down on the floor and glanced around the room. Everything about it shouted Steven and she...loved it. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It was exactly how they had left it the day they had gone to the airport a couple of weeks ago. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“This is the part of the tour where you pass out on your bed in your clothes - right?” Connie sniggered as she looked over at Steven who had just placed his bags down and shut the door. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I was kind of hoping that you’d join me.” Steven shrugged, taking off his denim jacket and throwing it on top of his bags. He would have sorted it out in the morning. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I wish I could say no, but I don’t think I can keep my eyes open.” Connie attempted to hide her yawn as she spoke. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Steven walked past her and practically flopped on the bed, not even bothering to take off any of his clothes as he kicked off his shoes before his feet hit the bed. He rolled over and climbed under the covers before lifting the side and tapping gently. Connie laughed at the gesture, taking off her shoes and carefully climbing into the bed next to him. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She laid next to him in the bed with a smile, staring at one another for a little longer than they had first anticipated. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“So, I’ll see you in twelve hours?” Steven smirked, knowing that they would have slept for far too long to help balance their jetlag. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Whoever wakes up first has to go and get ingredients to make pancakes.” Connie made sure to set the rules. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Deal.” Steven laughed before leaning over and planting a small kiss on her lips. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Connie made sure to shuffle as closely to Steven as possible, knowing that they would have spent the remainder of the evening and the rest of the next morning sleeping. It wasn’t so much a bad thing and they were both looking forward to it. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It would have been nice to wake up next to one another. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Not just that day - but the next. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>And the next. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The tour had been exhausting and they deserved the rest. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Who would have thought that following her boyfriend’s midwest emo band across the UK would have been such a life-changing experience?</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Connie didn’t expect it for a second. </span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0015"><h2>15. Permanence</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Max is trying to find her place in the world as Steven and Connie decide on their plans for the future.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>“I think I would be really good for the position, Mister Universe - I really think I’d be suited here!” Max anxiously held her hands on her lap as she sat across the desk from Greg Universe who was staring down at a sheet of paper in front of him. He ran his eyes across the page, studying the letters.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Max...you’re incredibly overqualified for this position.” Greg swallowed slightly, the college graduate was more than capable of getting a salary that neared his if she put her mind to it. Except, she didn’t want that. She wanted to have a career in something she loved. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well, I do know quite a lot about music and the industry. I probably should have made a playlist for my resume…” Max pondered on the thought, suddenly thinking about how she could have incorporated her love for music in the job interview. After all, it was a position relating to the music industry. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“These grades are insane, Max! Jeez, I haven’t seen that many ‘A’s’ since I was stuck in an email chain with a bunch of Canadians.” Greg wheezed through his teeth before running his hand over his hair. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>As Greg gawked over the grades on the front page of the resume, Max reached into her backpack by her feet and pulled out a laptop. She opened it up and quickly logged on before placing it on the desk in front of Greg, she spun it around to face him. Greg placed the sheet of paper down and looked up at Max before glancing down at the screen. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I was hoping that maybe I could show you my music marketing techniques and how I’ve used social media algorithms to my advantage to draw in a larger audience. You see, the best way to market these shows is to make sure they’re finding the right people. There’s no point in advertising alternative rock to some grandma who spins Dolly Parton on the weekend. It’s a waste of resources and ultimately a waste of your money.” Max explained as she pointed to the screen at the social media page she had been working on for a while. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Greg watched as Max pushed the laptop towards him and urged him to scroll through. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Touring with Star Destroyers the previous summer allowed me to build up my social media presence. I’ve been working with Sour Cream and Jenny to help promote the band through several different social channels. So far, it’s proven to be incredibly successful. However, the best thing about social media is that there’s always ample opportunity to grow! It’s super awesome, although I have to </span>
  <em>
    <span>beep my own bus</span>
  </em>
  <span> here…” Max coughed slightly before continuing. “Social media interaction on all platforms for Star Destroyers has been up over seventy-eight percent since I began to help promotion within the band. That’s a sure number to help secure new viewership in terms of the band’s pages and overall streams and sales.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Woah…” Greg gave Max the same shocked expression that she was so used to seeing Steven do. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Throughout the UK I learned a lot. Mostly, the vast complexity of social situations that I am yet to understand - but mostly how to sell merchandise. The band sold more merchandise with me on that stand than they had sold in their entire careers because let's be honest - Steven wears most of it.” Max shrugged as she sat down and readjusted her suit jacket. “What I’m trying to say is...do I have a job or are you going to blue-ball me?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Max...you’re…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hired?” Max leant forward ever so slightly, awaiting an answer. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I sure as heck think you’d make one kick-ass promoter…” Greg picked the resume back up at the edges and glanced over her qualifications. “...but is this really what you want?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What do you mean?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Steven said that you were going to law school. This...isn’t law school. Is everything okay?” Greg’s eyebrows dipped at the thought, Steven had told him the bare minimum when it came to why Max wanted a job. Greg wanted to know a little bit more before he decided on putting his son’s good friend on his company’s books. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Max looked away for a moment, attempting to gather her thoughts within her head so that she could come up with a reasonable answer that would have made sense. Explaining to Greg Universe why she no longer wanted to go to a law school across the other side of the country would have been...different. She had already been over the subject countless amounts of time with her own father. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Everything is...good! I just came to the conclusion that perhaps being a lawyer isn't what I wanted. I want to do something I </span>
  <em>
    <span>know</span>
  </em>
  <span> I'll love." Max shrugged, she had never really thought about anything different until she had graduated. It made her think about what it was she wanted to do with her future. Connie had been baffled by the idea that she was going to want to change career paths. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"You sure do love your music…" Greg smirked at the thought. It went without saying that Max was the biggest fan of his son's band. Max had freaked out about having conversations with Greg in the past, but she certainly didn't mind speaking to him about music. She always had more questions about the industry and Greg was happy to tell her silly stories from old tours that she enjoyed. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"That's the number one requirement for the job - right?" </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"I guess you're right." Greg chuckled, seeing something in Max that perhaps she hadn't quite seen in herself previously. Being on tour with Star Destroyers irritated the idea that Max could have been a great promoter. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>From being on the band's social media page to selling the idea and concept of Stephen Space-Wolf to rapping about merchandise as a way to get more sold as a consequence. Not only that, but Max was incredibly talented when it came to hyping everyone up and starting pits at the shows. She was a hype man extraordinaire and people loved her for it. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"I would bring something to the table that other people haven't seen before in this industry. A young, fresh pair of eyes to see things that these boomer schmucks can't see!"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Who are you calling 'boomer'?" Greg cocked his eyebrow at the phrase, becoming somewhat awkwardly offended by the comments. She hoped he was joking - but she couldn't quite tell. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"N-no, not you Mister Universe. If anything, you're the coolest boomer I know. Although, I'm not even sure you're old enough to be a boomer." Max thought about his age for a moment, wondering how old the man may have been. Old enough to be her dad - that was for sure. Old enough to be her grandad? It depended on whether or not they </span>
  <em>
    <span>got to it</span>
  </em>
  <span> sooner rather than later. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"The hair just </span>
  <em>
    <span>screams</span>
  </em>
  <span> millennial, right?" Greg winked as he touched his long hair, showing off its shine. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Totally, man. You rock it!" Max stuck her tongue out and shaped her hands as devil horns. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Greg appreciated the compliment. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He moved gently in the large office chair, debating the position that he wanted to give Max. He was sure that he wanted to give her something, there were too many opportunities at the studio to have passed up, especially since he was currently looking to expand to his label. It would have been a great project, but one that he needed a lot of hands for. Max would have been a valuable member of the team and Greg knew it. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Greg leant forward on the desk with a smile. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"How does a paid internship sound?" Greg tilted his head slightly as he popped the question. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Yes! I'll do it! Whatever! I'll start now!" Max gripped onto either side of her chair as she beamed at the offer. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Woah, slow down there! We'll need to iron out some details, but you can start tomorrow - right?" </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Yeah! Whenever! I'm free all the time!" </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"You have somewhere to stay, right? You're staying with Steven here in Nashville?" Greg was a little concerned about Max's accommodation, she had been staying with Steven for a little while after the tour. She could have quite easily gone back to Michigan but wanted to stick around for a while to see if Greg had any opportunities available. This had been the first time in weeks he had been free enough to host some sort of interview. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Well, it's not a permanent thing...I don't think Steven and Connie would be very happy about that. I'm a pretty cool third wheel, but I'm certain they're looking for a bicycle and not a tricycle." Max snorted, knowing that her two best friends didn't mind her bunking with them for now - but things would have been different after a while. It wasn't a good solution. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Since the end of the tour, Connie had been staying with Steven. Although Greg had been kind enough to offer them both the opportunity to stay in his penthouse opposed to Steven's cramped studio apartment. It had been a surreal experience and although Steven had begged for both Connie and Max to not touch anything whilst in his dad's apartment - they couldn't seem to help themselves. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"With Steven and Connie looking for a house...why don't you move into Steven's old apartment?" Greg shrugged at the suggestion, passing it over to Max as she thought about the opportunity.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She had been in Steven's apartment once before, there wasn't anything special about it. It had just the right amount of space for one person and two people for a single night if Max ever broke her rule of bringing someone home…</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Either way, it was big enough for her! In fact…it was probably perfect. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"I never really thought about it." Max shrugged, the idea becoming prominent within her mind. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Now it's something to think about." Greg shrugged again as Max scratched her chin. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Today was a day of opportunity! </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It hadn’t been long since they had all returned from tour and things had started to settle down...in ways that they hadn’t quite expected. Steven sat on the end of the bed that he had in the apartment that his dad owned. It was a pretty large space and one that he and Connie had been living in together for the past few weeks. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Although his apartment had been too small, it seemed as if the huge penthouse was most certainly too large for both of them. Having Max staying there too meant that there was someone else around in the large area. Greg had only brought the penthouse as a place for him to stay when he was grounded in Nashville, but admittedly - he preferred the life of living inside of his tour bus or van. It wasn’t exactly glamorous, but it was something that he enjoyed. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Steven thought that the penthouse was incredibly fancy, perhaps a little too fancy for him too. However, both Connie and Max seemed to have enjoyed the decor. It was nice that Steven had his own room there, despite never really staying over other than when he had promised he would complete a lot of work with his dad in the studio. That, or he was recording something there with him for long periods. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It was also nice to just be with his dad when the time allowed. That was always nice, considering how close he was to his father. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>As Steven sat on the end of his bed he gently strummed on the guitar that he had brought Connie in the UK. She had surprisingly been playing it quite a lot since they returned from the tour. Steven was originally a little worried that she wouldn’t have picked up on the hobby, but over time it was something that he knew she would have warmed up to a lot more. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Connie didn’t have much going on in her life other than scanning the internet to try and find jobs. It certainly wasn’t what she had expected to find herself doing with her time, but it was something that she wanted to do. Something that she needed to do. Greg had offered her small jobs at the studio, but couldn’t quite find her a position that she could have filled that would have matched her qualifications or given her something that would have occupied her ever-pacing mind. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Steven quickly jotted a few notes down on the pieces of paper he had laid out in front of him, humming a tune as he pressed his lips together. He was sure he wasn’t going to have spent a lot of his free time writing songs, but a lot of the time he couldn’t help it - it was in his bones to create music and that was just what he was going to have done no matter the circumstances. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Steven didn’t notice as Connie leant her shoulder up against the doorframe and watched him through the door. There he was, sitting in his own world as he strummed a beautiful pattern of chords together and created a song that Connie was yet to hear. She wanted to moan at him for using her guitar, considering he had his own - but she knew that he loved the one that he had gotten as a gift for her. It was probably his true intention to get it so that he would be able to play on it too. She was sure that he had messed around with the tunings once before without tuning it back for her. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What are you writing today?” Connie questioned, not wanting him to jump in her presence as he came to a halt on one of the strums. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Huh? Oh! The song.” Steven turned around slightly to smile at Connie in the doorway, she had folded over her arms and was currently leaning her head against the doorframe. As per usual, she was looking incredibly beautiful. He was so lucky to have her to call his own. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah, what are you writing about?” Connie asked once more, wanting to know a little more about the new song. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Steven looked down at the notebook before looking back over to Connie with a shrug. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I think it’s about change.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh, like...coins?” Connie teased as she watched Steven’s expression drop as confusion spread across his face. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What? Er...wait - no!” Steven finally laughed as he concluded as to what it was she was talking about. He was incredibly impressed with her humour. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“So, what kind of change?” Connie pushed as she came and sat down beside him. Steven shuffled over to allow more room on the edge of the bed. Steven readjusted the guitar so that he wasn’t anywhere near Connie - the last thing he wanted to do was to hit his girlfriend in the face with a guitar. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He didn’t want to admit that he had done that once before. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She had forgiven him. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Eventually. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well, just the idea that things don’t always work out the way that you originally planned and that’s...okay.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You’re thinking about Max - aren’t you?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Steven stared down at the floor below him. He was worried about how Max was doing in her interview with his dad. She was going to have nailed it - but that didn’t mean he wasn’t going to have worried about it. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Do you think she’s okay? My dad’s going to give her the job regardless, right?” Steven’s expression dropped with concern. He wanted nothing more than for Max to have been in a position where she was happy where she was working. He had put forward the suggestion to his dad regarding a promoter position and how well Max had done when she was with the band. He couldn’t have imagined Max doing anything else, especially now that she had dropped out of law school. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m sure he’ll find her something!” Connie smiled as she gently rubbed Steven’s arm to comfort him. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It had felt like the tour had dragged them both through hell and back. It was hard to imagine a time in which they could have found some kind of normality. It seemed as if things were starting to boil down to a point that they could have controlled. A point that meant that they could have continued their lives the way that they wanted. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I know, my dad wouldn’t just...leave her jobless.” Steven snorted, knowing that his dad would have done everything he could to make sure that Max secured some kind of position at his studio. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Besides, loads of things will be changing in her life pretty soon. I really think we should see if she wants to move into your old apartment. I know it's stupidly small, but it might be okay for Max!” Connie sparked a conversation, a little bit shocked that Max hadn't suggested the idea before. Max was usually the one to come up with those kinds of suggestions. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hey, it’s pretty cozy!” Steven defended the small space. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Your dad’s apartment is a mansion in comparison to that </span>
  <em>
    <span>room</span>
  </em>
  <span>.” Connie teased, Steven had lived in his small apartment for as long as he could remember. It was the only place that he could have afforded at the time and due to being comfortable, he decided to stay there for a lot longer than he would have thought. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well, we’ll have several rooms all to ourselves soon enough!” Steven winked as Connie continued to touch his arm as a way to stay close to him. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Your dad is coming with us, isn’t he?” Connie questioned, knowing that only a few days ago they had agreed to visit a property up for sale not too far away from the area. It was a lovely little home that they had both spotted on a realtor website. A house that they believed would have been suited to them both. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>They had both spent the past couple of years cooped up in small spaces, with Steven being in his incredibly small apartment and Connie being inside of a dorm room - it was strange to think that in just a few months they would have a backyard of their own! </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>As much as Steven originally disagreed with the help that Greg wanted to provide - he decided to give in. Greg had agreed to help the young couple find a property for them to both live in. Although Steven wasn’t completely comfortable with his dad buying the property completely, Steven vowed to pay him back every single penny as if he was paying a mortgage. It wasn’t as if Greg didn’t have the money. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The house that they had gone for wasn’t particularly fancy, but it was the perfect starter home. There were a few things that needed to be done to make it their own, but that wouldn’t have taken long for them to have completed. It was more down to the money situation than anything. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Connie was still on the lookout for some kind of career path that she could have taken. However, she was looking more on the prospects of what it would have meant for her to have taken a gap year. If Max could have done something similar, then Connie probably could have followed her tracks. Just because they studied something in college, that didn’t mean that they would have to get a career in that field. There were always different opportunities everywhere. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Y-yeah, he’s coming! At least, I hope he is. I’ve never looked at a house before...I kind of just viewed my apartment online.” Steven scratched the back of his neck awkward with a small laugh, gently placing the guitar down leaning against the bed beside him. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You didn’t view it before you moved in?” Connie cocked an eyebrow at the thought. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well, it looked a lot bigger in the pictures…” Steven tittered, feeling a little embarrassed by his past mistake. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m not moving into a house that I haven’t been in, that seems…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Stupid. I </span>
  <em>
    <span>know</span>
  </em>
  <span>.” Steven sighed, unable to stop himself from laughing. Connie shook him slightly in the arm as she sat beside him on the edge of the bed. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s silly, </span>
  <em>
    <span>Silly</span>
  </em>
  <span>.” Connie snorted as she pushed him slightly in the shoulder, continuing to tease him. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I promise to be better at searching on the housing market now that I am a true adult moving in with my girlfriend and not a sloppy teenager doing anything and everything I can to be independent.” Steven lifted his hand in the air and took the vow, closing his eyes as he spoke. There was a moment of silence as Steven gently opened one of his eyes, awaiting Connie’s reaction. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Connie sat in front of him, listening to his vow with a smile. The only thing she wanted to do was to make sure that she and Steven moved in with one another. It would have been one of the most fantastic things that had happened to Steven in recent years. He was incredibly excited to have been able to have moved in with his girlfriend. He thought about it every day and every night. It was nice to know that she was excited too. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It would have been perfect. Steven was going to have been happy and that was everything...as long as Connie was going to have been happy with the decisions that they had made together. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Have I ever told you how much of a dork you are?” Connie laughed as she pulled his hand downwards. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“A few times.” Steven finally opened his eyes and smiled toward Connie. It was nice for them to have been together in some capacity that wasn’t surrounded by the bad things that were originally happening to them. There would have been nothing worse than having to put up with the bad thoughts and feelings that had haunted them throughout the UK tour. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>With Steven facing some of his previous demons and coming into close contact with his past, it was interesting for him to have gotten back to the point in which he felt as if he could start to contact some of the Gems again. He had even called Garnet once he had gotten home to speak about the tour and anything that she may have also wanted to speak about. The conversation wasn’t very long - but they had spoken more in the past month than they had in the last couple of years. He had even had the confidence to text Amethyst. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>On the other hand, things with Connie’s parents had been incredibly difficult. They would have continued to have been difficult and Connie wasn’t quite sure when things would have gotten better. A part of her wasn’t sure they even would have gotten better. Either way, she knew that she was happy where she was. She had even called them to let them know that she was going to have been getting a house with Steven in Nashville. They hadn’t said much on the subject but listened politely to what their daughter had to say. Steven sat with her through all of the phone calls after she had requested the support. He was happy to sit there and hold her hand. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Connie’s relationship with Max had been repaired to the point in which they had managed to be living with one another for the past couple of weeks. With Max returning home and coming back almost immediately, it was interesting for them to have spent their time living together inside of the penthouse. It was certainly a lot bigger than their dorm room was and it was strange getting used to the change. Max even had her own bathroom. The apartment was that big! </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It was nice to have her best friend back considering the argument that they had when they were back in Southampton. The best thing for them to do would have been to just continue whatever kind of relationship they had beforehand, but this time making sure that it was new and improved. They just needed to make sure that they respected one another’s pursuits in life and what they wanted to do. Connie had been incredibly supportive of everything that Max wanted to do and in return, Max had shown her support for Connie through all of the tough times that she had been having. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Connie shuffled a little closer to Steven as he gently circled the top of her knee with his finger, looking at her with a small smirk. He was so glad to have been in her presence. So happy to know that the most beautiful girl in the world wanted to be with him. It was even more of a feat to know that she was more than ready to settle down with him in a home that they could have called their own. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m so lucky you’re around to call me a dork.” Steven smiled, a sweetness in his expression that couldn’t have been matched by anyone. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m lucky that you let me call you a dork.” Connie grinned, placing her hand on the side of his face in response to his touch. All she ever wanted to do was be closer to him. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Steven beamed, creating a silence between them once more before he finally asked what was on his mind. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“So...how long do you think we could make out for before Max comes back?” Steven pouted his lips slightly at the idea, his eyes darting off to the side. Surprisingly, his face had turned a shade of red at the thought. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Five minutes - tops.” Connie nodded, enjoying the idea. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I can work with that.” Steven shrugged as he suddenly went in for a kiss. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Connie gently pushed him in the chest with a chuckle.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We both know that five minutes </span>
  <em>
    <span>isn’t </span>
  </em>
  <span>enough for you…” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hmm…” Steven hummed before continuing to lean forward. Connie didn’t complain as their lips touched, their movements were incredibly familiar to one another. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The idea of being able to be around one another all the time rather than just after long car journeys on the weekend was exciting. It would have been the best thing to have been able to spend intimate time together without having to drive eight hours just to get there. The best thing would have been being able to roll to the other side of the bed and immediately being greeted by the person that you loved. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Connie climbed onto the bed, keeping her lips attached to Stevens. Admittedly, they kissed a lot - but no matter how many times they did it would have never lost its charm. Just as Steven turned his whole body around to mirror Connie there was a sudden crash at the front door. Both Steven and Connie detached lips as they shuffled to a seated position at the end of the bed. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Guys! Guys! Guys!” A voice shouted, more crashing coming from in the other room. Connie took a deep breath and pushed her palm against her forehead and awaiting the whirlwind that was-</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Max!” Steven smiled, running his fingers through his hair to make sure it wasn’t completely obvious he was just about to make out with his girlfriend. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Max practically ran into the bedroom, using the frame of the door to stop her from completely coming in - bouncing herself back as she exchanged glances between the two of them sat awkwardly at the end of the bed. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hold up. You guys weren’t about to fuck were you?” Max furrowed her eyebrows at the thought. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“N-no!” Steven sweated nervously, looking over at Connie for reassurance. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“So, how did it go?” Connie questioned, placing her hands in her lap and completely ignoring whatever it was that Max had questioned. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh! You’ll never be able to guess! Let me just-” Max threw herself in between both Steven and Connie, shuffling backwards to make herself comfortable. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Did you get it?” Steven asked, growing impatient. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well, you guys are now looking at one happy individual who is about to blow up in this industry!” Max adjusted her imaginary collar. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You got it?!?” Connie spoke with excitement in her tone.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Of course I got it, ConCon - I’m Max Kayori!” Max scoffed with pride. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Connie immediately threw her arms around her best friend, making sure that she knew that she was loved. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Max! That’s amazing news!” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“That’s super cool, Max!” Steven chuckled, relieved that his dad had been kind enough to give her the position. Greg would have had to have given the woman the position regardless of her connections with Steven - she was far too talented to have missed out on employing. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>As soon as Connie let go, Max placed her arm around Connie and then immediately around Steven - holding them both as close as possible. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"You guys are great - you know that, right?" Max held both of them as close as possible as they laughed, attempting to wiggle away from her grip. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Not as great as you!” Steven laughed as he attempted to escape from her grasp. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Woah, Stevie-U...I can tell why you love this teddy bear, Con! He’s a real catch. He’s got </span>
  <em>
    <span>excellent </span>
  </em>
  <span>taste too!” Max let go of them both, poking Steven in the stomach and making him squirm as Connie laughed. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m glad you continue to approve.” Connie nodded, laughing at the two people she loved most in the world sat at the end of the bed with her. As suggestive as it sounded - it wasn’t quite what you thought. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Me too!” Steven bunched up his arms, a little scared that Max was going to poke him again. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“So...when’s the wedding?” Max exchanged glances between the both of them. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Steven and Connie stared at one another in confusion as Max sat between them. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Uh...wedding?” Steven cocked an eyebrow. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well, give or take a year or two - I need to know what I’m wearing </span>
  <em>
    <span>way way </span>
  </em>
  <span>in advance.” Max shrugged, hoping that they could have given her an answer. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I don’t think we’ve thought about that yet…” Connie chuckled awkwardly. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Max stood up and immediately spun around, looking down at them both sitting at the end of the bed. She pointed at both of them before shaking her head. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Y’know...in good Christian households they get married </span>
  <em>
    <span>before </span>
  </em>
  <span>they bone. I’m going to leave you two to think about that and the sins that you’ve committed this past year.” Max shook her head a little more as she folded over her arms, backing into the doorway. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What are you talking about?” Connie laughed, unsure what her friend was talking about. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Next time, just think - </span>
  <em>
    <span>What would Jesus do?</span>
  </em>
  <span>” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What?” Steven was confused. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>In other words - Max wanted her two best friends to spend the rest of their lives together, she was just incredibly bad at saying it in plain and simple terms that other people could understand. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Exactly!</span>
  </em>
  <span>” Max continued to back away through the door. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Steven and Connie exchanged glances once more. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well done on the job!” Connie shouted through the door. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Thanks, my dude!” Max shouted back with a smile as she walked away, more than prepared to spend her night watching reruns of her favourite show and eating copious amounts of cake to reward herself for a successful interview. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It was nice to know that Max was supportive of their relationship. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>With everything finally falling into place, Steven sighed happily as he fell back on the bed and stared at the ceiling. It didn’t take long for Connie to copy his action, placing her hands onto her stomach and looking up at the white ceiling above them. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m exactly where I want to be.” Steven smiled, reminding Connie of the night he was drunk, admitting all of his true feelings about their relationship. She had truly made him happier than anyone else in his life. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Me too.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What’s next for us?” Steven looked over at Connie, turning his head on the sheets. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“House!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Then?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I guess we’ll just have to wait and see…” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Even bigger house!" Steven giggled, thinking that his plan was incredibly smart. It made sense! </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Connie turned once more, propping herself up with her elbow so that she could be closer to him. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"You might just be the biggest dork in existence, but I love you." Connie smirked as she reached over with her spare hand to place on top of his hands as a way to be closer. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"I love you too." Steven grinned, feeling incredibly loved as she moved forward and planted a small kiss on his cheek. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Despite the road of the UK being filled with copious amounts of emotional potholes, it seemed as if everything worked out to be better than before. Steven and Connie were more than happy to continue to live their lives together. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Love was a wonderful thing.</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Thank you so much for joining Star Destroyers across the UK! It was super fun to write about, well...where I live! </p>
<p>You'll be happy to know that I'm working on a third Star Destroyers because I have no self-control and all I think about in my free time is a bunch of emo boys whilst I listen to emo music. Y'know...it's a problem! </p>
<p>I haven't got a release date for it yet, but it's going to be sometime within the next month. The best thing to do is to 'subscribe' to me on AO3 and you'll get updates when I post. Sounds pretty cool, right? Yeah! Do that. </p>
<p>See you in the next one!</p>
        </blockquote><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Find me on Tumblr - @ConnverseTheUniverse</p><p>You can find the playlist for this story here: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2MnfFQZfxtFzsXSkIsER3f?si=NoY2YSysRFaIG0OalByzNQ</p><p>Fic will be updating every Monday and Friday. May switch to three a week when I'm ahead of schedule. :^) I'll keep you updated!</p></blockquote><div class="children module" id="children">
  <b class="heading">Works inspired by this one:</b>
  <ul>
    <li>
        <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27307618">Star Destroyers: In Circles</a> by <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/Psychedelic_Star/pseuds/Psychedelic_Star">Psychedelic_Star</a>
    </li>
  </ul>
</div></div></div>
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